Preview: Red-hot Mavs hope to keep the winning going against Heat

MIAMI – The Dallas Mavericks enter Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat with an NBA-high tying four-game winning streak tucked in their back pockets.

Besides the Mavs, the other teams currently owning a four-game winning streak are the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. But what separates what the Mavs have accomplished over the last four games as opposed to the Clippers, Celtics and Bucks is the average margin of victory.

So, how do the Mavs keep this train rolling on the right path?

“(I have to) learn from my mistakes and not be complacent with wins and not be complacent with just what we haven’t gotten in a while,” center Dereck Lively II said. “It’s just moving on to the next play, next game, next day mentality, and just taking that and moving forward.”

The Mavs go into the game against the Heat after defeating the Denver Nuggets, 123-120, on Friday. It was a game where the Mavs blew a 24-point lead in the second half, then rallied after falling behind the Nuggets by five points with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

The Mavs have won their last four games by an average of 15.8 points per contest, while the Celtics have won theirs by 10.8 points, the Clippers by 10.3 points, and the Bucks by 8.8 points. The challenge for the Mavs against Miami is to keep the ball moving where more players are involved offensively, and then limit the Heat to just one shot.

“At the end of the day I know we got to be better on the defensive glass,” forward P. J. Washington said. “So, every time a shot goes up I’m trying to be aggressive and trying to go get a rebound for my team.

“(We need to) just focus on the little things, and I just kind of get a roll going and just being aggressive. I credit my teammates for having confidence in me as well.”

Here are some other nuggets surrounding the game between the Mavs and Heat.

*This is the second of a three-game road trip for the Mavs. The trip started on Friday with the Mavs’ very wild 123-120 victory over the Nuggets in Denver. The trip concludes with Monday’s game in Atlanta before the Mavs return home to host the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

*The Heat are in the midst of a three-game home stand. The home stand started with last Monday’s 106-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The home stand ends with Tuesday’s game against Milwaukee before Miami plays in Charlotte on Wednesday.

*After uncharacteristically losing four straight games, the Mavs have followed that up by winning four straight games. And in each of the past three games, the Mavs have distributed the ball so well that seven players tallied 10 or more points in each of those games.

*The top production players for the Heat are Tyler Herro (24.2 ppg, 5.2 apg), Jimmy Butler (17.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Bam Adebayo (16.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and Duncan Robinson (10.2 ppg).

*The Mavs will again be without star point guard Luka Dončić, who is sidelined with a right wrist sprain. Fortunately for the Mavs, they are 2-0 when Dončić hasn’t played this season. In addition to the game against Denver that Dončić missed, the Mavs also won at Oklahoma City, 121-119, on Nov. 17 while Dončić was out nursing a bruised right knee. Dončić is also slated to miss Monday’s game in Atlanta and Wednesday’s contest in Dallas against the New York Knicks.

*The well-rested Heat hasn’t played since last Monday’s 17-point victory over Philadelphia. In that game, Jimmy Butler collected 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and Tyler Herro contributed 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.

*Mavs forward Naji Marshall tallied a career-high 26 points off the bench on 11-of-15 shots against Denver. He also converted 3-of-4 baskets from three-point land during his 26 minutes on the court.

DALLAS MAVERICKS (9-7) at MIAMI HEAT (6-7)

When: 5 p.m., Sunday

Where: Kaseya Center, Miami

TV: KFAA-29, MavsTV Stream

Radio: KEGL 97.1 FM The Eagle, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)

X: @DwainPrice