MAVERICKS (33-24) at MIAMI HEAT (37-20)
Time: 6:30 p.m., Tuesday.
Place: FTX Arena, Miami.
TV: Bally’s Sports Southwest
Radio: The Eagle 97.1 FM; Univision Zona MX 99.1 FM (Spanish)
About the Mavericks: They start a two-game trip to close out the pre-All-Star portion of the schedule by visiting their longtime rivals from the Eastern Conference. In case you have forgotten or are a young fan, the Mavericks’ two trips to the NBA finals both came against the Heat. Miami won in 2006, the Mavericks got some payback in 2011 . . . The Mavericks have gone 17-6 since New Year’s Eve, although they are coming off a disappointing 99-97 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. They got 45 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists from Luka Dončić in that game, but still came up short . . . They had three consecutive wins against Eastern Conference opponents (Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia) on the six-game home stand that improved them to 10-10 against the East this season . . . They are starting a five-game trip, technically, which will be bridged by the All-Star break. After Miami, they visit New Orleans on Thursday and come back after the break for games at the Jazz, Warriors and Lakers. They won’t return to American Airlines Center until March 3 against Golden State . . . On the six-game home stand, Jalen Brunson scored 20 or more points four times and averaged 19.2 points and shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range . . . The Mavericks will hope to avenge the 125-110 loss to the Heat on Nov. 2 in Dallas . . . In that game, Brunson had 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting . . . Trey Burke (left shoulder sprain) is questionable. Marquese Chriss (right knee soreness), Tim Hardaway Jr. (left foot surgery) and Theo Pinson (right fifth finger fracture) are all out.
About the Heat: They have won five in a row, the first four on the road and all five against teams that are .500 or worse. The run has put them atop the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of Chicago . . . They have three high-quality scorers in Jimmy Butler (21.7 points), Tyler Herro (20.0) and Bam Adebayo (18.7) and all of them do their thing a little differently. Butler is a creator with a flair for getting to the free-throw line. Herro is lethal from long range. And Adebayo does most of his work inside. He also averages over 10 rebounds . . . Point guard Kyle Lowry had the 20th triple-double of his career last week with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against New Orleans. He also lit up the Mavericks in November with 22 points and nine assists. He hit six of nine 3-pointers in that game . . . Also in that game, Butler made 17 trips to the free-throw line, making 15 as he had 23 points and Adebayo had 22 points to go with 13 rebounds . . . They are the No. 1 3-point shooting team in the league at 37.6 percent . . . They also are one of the best rebounding teams in the league, grabbing three more rebounds per game than their opponents . . . Their latest success story is Max Strus, an undrafted guard in 2019 who has slowly become one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, averaging 11 points while knocking down nearly 41 percent of his triples.
Twitter: @ESefko
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