The Dallas Mavericks lost 123-118 to the Miami Heat on Sunday evening. Kyrie Irving led the way for Dallas with 27 points, while Jimmy Butler himself scored a game-high 33 for Miami. In what has become a frustrating pattern this season, Dallas played well but couldn’t close out the game at the end. Their record drops to 9-8 this season.

Dallas came out of the gate on fire, scoring on six of their first seven possessions. An easy layup by Quentin Grimes gave the Mavericks a 13-8 lead, prompting a timeout from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. It took a few minutes, but Miami found its footing, and some uninspired defense from Dallas allowed the Heat to keep the game close. Things fell apart for the Mavericks to end the first, as the offense completely dried up. Miami closed the quarter on a 16-5 run and took a 33-28 lead into the second period.

Buckets remained difficult to come by for Dallas to start the second period; their scoring drought reached nearly six minutes of game action before a Daniel Gafford putback stopped the bleeding. Miami opened a brief double-digit lead, but a three-and-1 from the combination of Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington helped the Mavericks steady themselves and tie the game at 39. Then the game turned into a sludge-fest, with both teams were involved. in a kind of bozo basketball for the rest of the frame. Maverick’s offense was once again stuck in the mud, allowing Miami to take a 56-51 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Mavericks tied the game quickly early in the third quarter, with Klay Thompson scoring seven big points. The two teams traded baskets for a while after that, and Dallas couldn’t quite seem to get over the hump when they had a chance to take the lead. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, Miami caught fire from three points midway through the period, expanding their lead to as many as ten. It looked like the Heat would pull away, but Naji Marshall scored ten straight points for Dallas, and the Mavericks went on a mini run to end the quarter and get to 89-84 after three of five.

Spencer Dinwiddie opened the fourth quarter with a personal 5-0 run to tie the game. Dallas scored a pair of points and re-tied the game several times throughout the quarter, but couldn’t take the lead until a huge stare-down three from Kyrie Irving finally put them ahead with 4:34 left. Dallas struggled to score over the next two minutes, but Miami couldn’t retake the lead and a huge Irving and-one gave them a four-point lead with 2:30 to go. But Miami answered back and a tough layup by Jimmy Butler restored their lead to 112-11 with one minute remaining. Irving gave Dallas the lead back with a sweet pull-up jumper and then made a great play to steal the ball and give Dallas an extra possession with 14 seconds left. Irving was fouled, but split the free throws; Unfortunately, Jimmy Butler tied the game with a dunk with 4.3 seconds left. A desperation three by Dinwiddie rang out and the game went into overtime.

Overtime was a disaster for Dallas as they only scored four points in the period. Jimmy Butler took over for Miami, while the Mavericks decided to run the offense through Spencer Dinwiddie, who wasn’t up to the task. The Mavericks lost 123-118. Here are three observations from this one.

Too much Spencer Dinwiddie

Okay, look, I understand what Jason Kidd was thinking. He wanted another ball handler and playmaker next to Kyrie as the game progressed. Dinwiddie hadn’t shot the ball well, but he competed on defense and gave Dallas some extra creative juice on offense. He even made a defensive play down the stretch that should have helped Dallas win the game. But Kidd, as he so often does with his favorite veterans, left Dinwiddie on the line for far too long. Dinwiddie played the entire overtime period, taking four shots, missing them all and committing a backbreaking turnover that led to points for Miami. One of the shots he made was an early clock, three steps back with 53 seconds left and the Mavs down just four. And he didn’t do anything special on defense, as Miami got what they wanted in OT. It was a baffling decision by Kidd, both from a process and outcome perspective. Dinwiddie was 1 of 12 from the field for the game, and there was simply no reason to reward a bench player with that many late runs when he shoots like that.

Kyrie Irving can’t be a quarter player

Irving was brilliant in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points and hitting several clutch shots that should have been game-sealers. But he did miss a crucial free throw that led directly to extra time. And before the fourth, Irving didn’t make his presence felt. Maybe the game won’t be a do-or-die situation if Irving is more aggressive in the first three quarters. And all the energy Irving used in the fourth made him completely ineffective in overtime. With Luka Doncic out, Irving has to play as a number one option to beat good teams, and he didn’t do that tonight.

Naji Marshall continues to impress

Marshall scored just one point in the first half and looked like he was headed for one of his worst games of the season. But he turned it around in a big way in the second half, scoring 19 points and leading Maverick’s comeback. Marshall has been a revelation for Dallas, and his production off the bench has been tremendous. He was the only reserve player with juice tonight, and it was disappointing that no one else from the bench helped him.

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