April 10: It’s official that the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat will play through Sunday’s finale of the regular season.
Currently ranked sixth in the Western Conference is Dallas (49-30). The play-in round, which is open to clubs in positions seven through ten in the standings, looks likely to be avoided by the Mavericks.
Miami (44-35) is currently ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference, and it appears that the Heat will once more face off in the play-in round.
Miami will host Dallas on Wednesday evening.
On Tuesday, both teams emerged victorious. The Heat defeated the Atlanta Hawks in the host city, 117-111, in double overtime. Dallas easily defeated Charlotte 130–104 on the road.
In just his third game back from an injury, Heat guard Tyler Herro scored 33 points on Tuesday. Out of 25 shots, he made 13 from the floor.
“I was trusted by my teammates to handle the ball,” said Herro, who made 4-of-13 3-pointers. “I require their assistance. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and the other guys on the team let me be who I am.”
The Heat might be ready to warm up just in time if Herro, who missed 20 games because of a foot injury, can finish the season with 20 or more points per game.
Butler, who finished the game with 25 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds, was quite complimentary of Herro.
“He’s victorious,” declared Butler. “He’s always willing to do whatever it takes to win.”
Due to injuries, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is concerned about Terry Rozier’s neck and Duncan Robinson’s back, both of whom missed the Hawks game. This season, that pair has combined for an average of 29.3 points per game.
The Mavericks began this week with an exciting 147-136 overtime victory at home against the Houston Rockets on Sunday. The Mavericks have won 15 of their last 17 games.
In one game, Dallas was behind by as many as 22 points. But in 45 minutes, Doncic scored 37 points, dished out 12 assists, and pulled down nine rebounds, while Irving scored an incredible 48 points.
Irving stated, “I’m depleted,” following the match.
Doncic believed the same thing following Tuesday’s victory.
Doncic remarked, “We really need some rest.” “However, right now, we’re playing some of the best defensive basketball of the season. That’s what we need to know.
