Post-Game Grades: Miami Heat Gets Hot In Dallas
By Wes Goldberg
96. 79. 105. 110. Final
Luol Deng had his best game in a Miami Heat uniform, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade each had double-doubles and Mario Chalmers was feeling it as the Heat (5-2) beat the Dallas Mavericks (4-3) 105-96 Sunday night.
SF. Miami Heat. LUOL DENG. A+. Luol Deng has never played such a good game in a Miami Heat uniform as he did tonight against Dallas. It’s only been six games, but already we have seen the very best of Deng. Not only did he score 30 points on a variety of cuts and jumpers off screens, but he held Chandler Parsons (1-9 for the night) to without a field goal until just minutes left in the game. Deng has taken the place of Wade as the official cutter on the team, and he is thriving in it so far. <em>Stats: 13-19 (4-9 3FG), 0-2 FT, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, 0 blocks, 30 points, 36:41.</em>
A. To everyone doubting if Wade can still be effective in back-to-backs, let this game serve as Heat fans collective middle finger to your sentiments. Wade may have scored <em>only 20 </em>points, but he helped create many more than that. He had 10 assists, but also was involved in setting screens and passing to the assist. Where Deng has filled Wade’s role as the cutter, Wade is filling the LeBron role as the distributor in the post. And, dare I say, he’s doing it just as well. <em>Stats: 9-18 (1-1 3FG), 1-2 FT, 2 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 0 blocks, 20 points, 35:36.</em>. SG. Miami Heat. DWYANE WADE
A. Wade was getting it done in the post, Deng was firing on cuts and on perimeter jumpers, and Bosh was eating the Mavs’ dreams with his lethal mid-range shot, going 5-of-6 from the mid-range. Like a football team unable to stop the opposing running game, giving up mid-range jumpers like that is devastating to a team. <em>Stats: 7-10 (0-2 3FG), 6-11 FT, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, 0 blocks, 20 points, 36:50.</em>. C. Miami Heat. CHRIS BOSH
A-. Chalmers started the game 5-of-5 and hit a couple of contested 3’s in the second half that helped the Heat maintain their lead despite a mini-run by the Mavs in the third. This is the kind of game Chalmers is capable of and, if it weren’t for Deng’s break out performance, would have been Miami’s “third guy” (and they still would have won). <em>Stats: 6-9 (3-5 3FG), 3-3 FT, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 0 blocks, 18 points, 34:22.</em>. G. Miami Heat. MARIO CHALMERS