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“We will figure this out. The fact that guys are upset about this, that is a sign to start a change. Our next step forward is to remember this pain.” —Heat coach Erik Spoelstra

The Miami Heat, even with three superstars on their roster (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh), are apparently having growing pains of their own as they’re finding out that they’re mere mortals like the other 29 teams in the Association.

They brought their 9-7 win-loss record – losers of three of their past 4 games – to Dallas as they faced the Mavericks at American Airlines Center. In a sense, it was a homecoming of sorts for Bosh, a Dallas native.

As has been the case, the South Beach Bunch still were not able to put it all together as Caron Butler’s seven points in the third quarter enabled Dallas to pull away and easily defeat Miami 106-95, giving the Mavericks their fifth straight win.

The Heat had some success early on as they took their earliest lead of the first half; Wade would score the first five points in a 10-0 run  after re-entering the game in the second quarter, making it 38-32 with 7 minutes left in the half.

About three minutes later, Caron Butler’s long jumper on a Jason Kidd assist made it 41-40; the best that Miami could muster was tie the game at 47-all on a three-point play by James. Dallas would go to their locker room with a slim two-point advantage at halftime.

As it would turn out, the third quarter would determine the fate of and show the frustration of the Heat – namely Wade – as after getting facialed by Tyson Chandler, he would get into a “discussion” with an official at the baseline.

Down by 18 in the third quarter, Miami would get to within 94-89 on a Mario Chalmers 3-pointer with 4:24 left in the game. but Chalmers would foul Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas superstar would calmly drain both free throws. Wade’s bad pass was soon stolen by Jason Terry which led to Kidd-to-Butler bucket that gave the Mavericks a 98-89 cushion.

The Heat would not recover after that possession.

Six Mavericks scored in double-digits, led by Butler with 23 points (including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc), 3 rebounds and a steal while Nowitzki added 22 with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Chandler and Shawn Marion added 14 apiece – with Chandler grabbing 17 boards along with 3 blocks while Marion grabbed 5 rebounds along with a steal.

The Heat had three players with 20 or more points each, led by James with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal while Wade and Bosh chipped in 22 apiece – with Wade grabbing 9 boards and dishing out 5 assists along with 2 blocks, but also turning the ball over 7 times while Bosh latched onto 8 caroms, dished out a pair of assists along with 2 steals.

Dallas (12-4) looks to win their sixth straight when they host the Houston Rockets Monday night while Miami (9-8) returns home to host the Washington Wizards – also on Monday night.