Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET the Dallas Mavericks (5-3) head to Miami to clash with LeBron James and the Miami Heat (5-3), the team they stunned in the NBA Finals three years ago. Live stream the game here; Mavericks fans can listen to the game on Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket, while Heat fans can follow along on 560 WQAM.
Both teams are drastically different from when they faced off in the Finals, and the Heat are different than they were a few games ago. After a shaky start they've won four of their last five games, and head coach Erik Spoelstra believes it's tied to their effort.
"It wasn't perfect," Spoelstra said. "There were still some areas we definitely need to improve on, in terms of the details and discipline. But at least the effort, the effort, the activity was better, the disposition right from the beginning and it carried through once we got into the rotation."
LeBron James is dealing with some back soreness, but offseason add Michael Beasley, originally drafted by Miami, is filling in nicely, including a 19-point effort on Tuesday.
"It means that my hard work is not going to vain," said Beasley. "I'm doing it to help my teammates because at the end of the day I don't want to let those guys down."
The Mavericks have played surprisingly well too, according to reserve scorer Vince Carter, including a defense that was expected to be little more than a collection of turnstiles. "We're getting better each and every game," Carter said.
"Our rotations are better. Our individual defense has been better. But just more than anything our help side and our team defense has been better, and it's fueled our offense." Their offense has been balanced as well, and no longer relies on Dirk Nowitzki to score every point.
While Dirk still averages a shade over 18 points per game, Monta Ellis is leading the pack with 22.5 points a night.
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