WhyTheyWon
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FINALOct 26Kaseya Center
Dallas Mavericks logo
DALDallas Mavericks
113Winner
Miami Heat logo
MIAMiami Heat
109
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4Final
DAL23303030113
MIA27253525109

Game analysis: Dallas Mavericks at Miami Heat

How the Mavericks Beat the Heat

Dallas's control of the glass helped it stay within reach until it took command late. The Mavericks recovered from a 10-point second-quarter deficit with a 10–0 run, then entered the fourth trailing by one after Miami reclaimed the advantage in the third. Daniel Gafford's basket with 6:12 remaining put Dallas ahead for good, and Cooper Flagg protected that lead with a block at 31.1 seconds before scoring with 10 seconds left. Flagg finished with 29 points and 11 assists, while P.J. Washington added 20 points and nine rebounds as Dallas won despite committing three more turnovers and being outscored in the paint.

The biggest reason

Rebounding

ReboundsDAL 51vsMIA 42

Also mattered

  • +37%Free-throw shooting
  • +5Assists
  • +4Blocks

Game flow

When the lead changed

DAL (away)MIA (home)

DAL's biggest lead was 8 points · MIA's was 12 points · 6 lead changes

-150+15Q1 11:07 · DAL 1–MIA 0Q1 11:07 · DAL 2–MIA 0Q1 10:37 · DAL 2–MIA 2Q1 9:41 · DAL 4–MIA 2Q1 9:30 · DAL 4–MIA 4Q1 9:05 · DAL 7–MIA 4Q1 8:54 · DAL 10–MIA 4Q1 8:41 · DAL 10–MIA 6Q1 8:25 · DAL 12–MIA 6Q1 8:12 · DAL 12–MIA 8Q1 8:00 · DAL 15–MIA 8Q1 7:46 · DAL 15–MIA 9Q1 7:23 · DAL 17–MIA 9Q1 7:12 · DAL 17–MIA 11Q1 6:15 · DAL 18–MIA 11Q1 6:15 · DAL 19–MIA 11Q1 5:50 · DAL 19–MIA 12Q1 5:28 · DAL 19–MIA 13Q1 4:54 · DAL 19–MIA 15Q1 4:26 · DAL 21–MIA 15Q1 4:16 · DAL 21–MIA 17Q1 2:13 · DAL 21–MIA 19Q1 1:50 · DAL 21–MIA 22Q1 51.0 · DAL 21–MIA 24Q1 28.0 · DAL 23–MIA 24Q1 8.6 · DAL 23–MIA 27Q2 11:38 · DAL 26–MIA 27Q2 11:23 · DAL 26–MIA 30Q2 11:04 · DAL 28–MIA 30Q2 10:55 · DAL 28–MIA 33Q2 10:30 · DAL 30–MIA 33Q2 10:24 · DAL 30–MIA 36Q2 10:03 · DAL 30–MIA 39Q2 8:17 · DAL 30–MIA 41Q2 8:03 · DAL 32–MIA 41Q2 7:54 · DAL 32–MIA 43Q2 7:30 · DAL 33–MIA 43Q2 7:30 · DAL 34–MIA 43Q2 7:02 · DAL 36–MIA 43Q2 6:44 · DAL 36–MIA 45Q2 5:58 · DAL 36–MIA 46Q2 5:49 · DAL 36–MIA 48Q2 5:34 · DAL 38–MIA 48Q2 5:04 · DAL 40–MIA 48Q2 4:25 · DAL 40–MIA 50Q2 4:07 · DAL 42–MIA 50Q2 3:42 · DAL 45–MIA 50Q2 3:17 · DAL 47–MIA 50Q2 1:07 · DAL 50–MIA 50Q2 47.1 · DAL 50–MIA 52Q2 30.8 · DAL 53–MIA 52Q3 11:44 · DAL 55–MIA 52Q3 11:21 · DAL 55–MIA 55Q3 10:56 · DAL 56–MIA 55Q3 10:56 · DAL 57–MIA 55Q3 10:47 · DAL 57–MIA 58Q3 9:49 · DAL 57–MIA 60Q3 9:49 · DAL 57–MIA 61Q3 9:36 · DAL 60–MIA 61Q3 9:20 · DAL 60–MIA 64Q3 8:28 · DAL 62–MIA 64Q3 8:19 · DAL 62–MIA 67Q3 7:52 · DAL 62–MIA 70Q3 7:33 · DAL 64–MIA 70Q3 7:32 · DAL 64–MIA 72Q3 6:49 · DAL 64–MIA 74Q3 6:35 · DAL 67–MIA 74Q3 6:12 · DAL 67–MIA 75Q3 5:44 · DAL 67–MIA 76Q3 5:44 · DAL 67–MIA 77Q3 5:30 · DAL 69–MIA 77Q3 5:17 · DAL 69–MIA 79Q3 4:51 · DAL 72–MIA 79Q3 3:41 · DAL 74–MIA 79Q3 3:07 · DAL 74–MIA 82Q3 2:42 · DAL 74–MIA 83Q3 2:42 · DAL 74–MIA 84Q3 2:30 · DAL 75–MIA 84Q3 2:30 · DAL 76–MIA 84Q3 1:29 · DAL 76–MIA 86Q3 1:12 · DAL 78–MIA 86Q3 27.2 · DAL 81–MIA 86Q3 6.8 · DAL 81–MIA 87Q3 0.6 · DAL 83–MIA 87Q4 11:44 · DAL 83–MIA 90Q4 11:28 · DAL 86–MIA 90Q4 10:16 · DAL 86–MIA 91Q4 9:19 · DAL 86–MIA 93Q4 9:11 · DAL 89–MIA 93Q4 8:51 · DAL 90–MIA 93Q4 8:38 · DAL 90–MIA 96Q4 8:27 · DAL 92–MIA 96Q4 8:13 · DAL 94–MIA 96Q4 8:13 · DAL 95–MIA 96Q4 6:57 · DAL 95–MIA 98Q4 6:34 · DAL 95–MIA 99Q4 6:12 · DAL 97–MIA 99Q4 5:57 · DAL 99–MIA 99Q4 5:50 · DAL 99–MIA 100Q4 5:36 · DAL 101–MIA 100Q4 4:52 · DAL 103–MIA 100Q4 4:52 · DAL 104–MIA 100Q4 4:41 · DAL 104–MIA 102Q4 4:23 · DAL 106–MIA 102Q4 4:08 · DAL 106–MIA 103Q4 4:08 · DAL 106–MIA 104Q4 3:08 · DAL 106–MIA 106Q4 2:40 · DAL 108–MIA 106Q4 2:29 · DAL 108–MIA 108Q4 2:02 · DAL 111–MIA 108Q4 1:41 · DAL 111–MIA 110Q4 49.5 · DAL 111–MIA 112Q4 10.0 · DAL 113–MIA 112Q4 0:00 · DAL 113–MIA 109Q1Q2Q3Q4

Quarter-by-quarter momentum

Quarter winners and scoring margin
  1. Q1
    Dallas Mavericks logoDAL23
    Miami Heat logoMIA27
    MIA won by 4
  2. Q2Biggest margin
    Dallas Mavericks logoDAL30
    Miami Heat logoMIA25
    DAL won by 5
  3. Q3
    Dallas Mavericks logoDAL30
    Miami Heat logoMIA35
    MIA won by 5
  4. Q4
    Dallas Mavericks logoDAL30
    Miami Heat logoMIA25
    DAL won by 5

Game turning points

Moments identified from the scoring timeline
  1. Largest deficitQ2 · 5:49

    Dallas Mavericks trailed by 12 at its deepest point before going on to win.

    Dallas Mavericks logoDAL 36MIA 48Miami Heat logo
  2. Late-game pressureQ4 · 1:41

    The game was within five points late, with Dallas Mavericks ahead.

    Dallas Mavericks logoDAL 111MIA 110Miami Heat logo
  3. Final lead changeQ4 · 10.0

    Dallas Mavericks went ahead and did not trail again.

    Dallas Mavericks logoDAL 113MIA 112Miami Heat logo

Momentum swings

Key stretches

6 stretches · runs and momentum swings
  1. Q1 · 9:30–7:23
    Dallas Mavericks logoDallas Mavericks13–5stretch

    DAL 4 – MIA 4DAL 17 – MIA 9

  2. Q1 · 6:15–8.6
    Miami Heat logoMiami Heat16–4stretch

    DAL 19 – MIA 11DAL 23 – MIA 27

  3. Q2 · 11:38–5:49
    Miami Heat logoMiami Heat21–10stretch

    DAL 26 – MIA 27DAL 36 – MIA 48

  4. Q2 · 5:49–30.8Biggest stretch
    Dallas Mavericks logoDallas Mavericks17–4stretch

    DAL 36 – MIA 48DAL 53 – MIA 52

  5. Q3 · 11:44–6:49
    Miami Heat logoMiami Heat22–9stretch

    DAL 55 – MIA 52DAL 64 – MIA 74

  6. Q4 · 9:19–4:52
    Dallas Mavericks logoDallas Mavericks18–7stretch

    DAL 86 – MIA 93DAL 104 – MIA 100

Players who shaped the game

Player impact

From the box score
Dallas Mavericks logo

Dallas Mavericks

DAL
  1. Leading scorerCooper Flagg
    29PTS6REB11AST5STL2BLK
  2. Impact contributorP.J. Washington
    20PTS9REB2AST2STL1BLK
  3. Impact contributorKyrie Irving
    18PTS6REB6AST2STL0BLK
Miami Heat logo

Miami Heat

MIA
  1. Leading scorerGiannis Antetokounmpo
    29PTS15REB11AST0STL1BLK
  2. Impact contributorBobby Portis
    10PTS12REB2AST0STL2BLK
  3. Impact contributorBam Adebayo
    8PTS8REB3AST2STL2BLK

Team performance

Biggest advantages and setbacks

What the winner did best—and what it overcame

Advantages

  1. Free-throw shootingWinner edge

    Dallas Mavericks had a 37 percentage points edge in free-throw shooting.

    DAL 93%MIA 56%
  2. BlocksWinner edge

    Dallas Mavericks had a 4 edge in blocks.

    DAL 10MIA 6
  3. Total reboundsWinner edge

    Dallas Mavericks had a 9 edge in total rebounds.

    DAL 51MIA 42

Setbacks

  1. TurnoversOpponent edge

    Dallas Mavericks committed 3 more turnovers than Miami Heat.

    DAL 17MIA 14

The numbers behind the win

Evidence

6 signals

Rebounding

Dallas held the stronger overall position on the boards in a game decided by a narrow margin.

Dallas Mavericks logoDAL51
Miami Heat logoMIA42

Free-throw shooting

Dallas converted its opportunities at the line far more efficiently than Miami.

Dallas Mavericks logoDAL93%
Miami Heat logoMIA56%

Ball movement

The Mavericks produced more assists, with Cooper Flagg recording 11 and Kyrie Irving adding six.

Dallas Mavericks logoDAL31
Miami Heat logoMIA26

Cooper Flagg

29 PTS, 11 AST, 5 STL, 2 BLK

Flagg supplied Dallas's highest scoring total while also contributing as a passer and defender.

Late defensive play

31.1 seconds remaining

Flagg blocked Andrew Wiggins with Dallas protecting a two-point lead in the final minute.

Editorial turning point

Daniel Gafford's basket with 6:12 remaining in the fourth quarter

Dallas went from trailing by one to leading by one, and Miami never regained the lead.

This game’s Winning DNA

How Dallas Mavericks got it done.

The winning formula behind this game.

Dallas Mavericks logo

Dallas Mavericks

Rebounding
35%
Superstar Performance
30%
Playmaking
20%
Defense
15%

Editorial weights for this game — not fan-vote percentages or official NBA statistics.

Team Comparison

Dallas Mavericks logoDallas Mavericks113 PTSVSKaseya CenterMiami Heat logoMiami Heat109 PTS
43-94FG41-92
14-453PT13-41
13-14FT14-25
51REB42
31AST26
11STL9
10BLK6
17TO14

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