?????????????????? Dallas Mavericks swingman Jerry Stackhouse shoots past Miami Heat guard Daequan Cook during the first quarter of their game, played Sunday. Dallas defeated Miami 98-73.

The Miami Heat are a team with no luck at all; coach and team president Pat Riley can’t get his team to win while he is pacing the bench, and when he goes away for a brief scouting trip, they can’t win either.? Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks was an exercise in domination - Dallas shot 50.7% from the floor, while Miami shot a woeful 42%; Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks to the easy 98-73 win over the Heat at American Airlines Arena.

The Mavericks were hot early on, scoring the game’s first 9 points, made 9 of their first 10 shots and had a 24-4 lead with 5:35 left in the 1st quarter; Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse scored 8 points each during that burst, while no Heat player had more than 7 points in the first half.? Miami, who was without Shawn Marion (back) and Udonis Haslem (ankle), did not have a player in double-digits until reserve Earl Barron hit a jumper midway through the third quarter, giving him 11 points and bringing the Heat to within 67-43.? Since the outcome was pretty much determined early on, the Mavericks cleared their bench shortly thereafter.

Dallas was led by Nowitzki with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, while Josh Howard scored 15 with 6 rebounds, an assist and a steal; from off the bench, Brandon Bass and Jason Terry added 14 apiece - with Bass grabbing 5 rebounds with a steal, while Terry grabbed a rebound and had 2 steals.? Miami only had 2 players in double-digits, led by Barron with 21 points, 5 rebounds and an assist, while Daequan Cook scored 11 with 8 rebounds and 3 assists.? Dallas (44-23) now travels west to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers Tuesday, while Miami (11-54) hopes to end their current 8-game losing streak as they fly to Milwaukee to face the Bucks - also on Tuesday.


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