Stackhouse scored 10 of his 24 points in the final four-plus minutes as the Mavericks rallied for a 109-104 victory over the Heat and a sweep of the season series.
|
Heat-Mavs: 300k 
|
"We're all pretty healthy now," Terry said. "With all the guys playing, people know their roles better. Someone different can have a big game from night to night."
Dallas missed nine of its first 10 shots in the final period as it watched an 87-78 lead turn into a 97-91 deficit on a 3-pointer by Rasual Butler with 4:33 to play.
Stackhouse answered with a jumper, then took his offense inside against the smaller Dwyane Wade. After a free throw by Wade, the 6-6 Stackhouse made a lane jumper, then followed a jumper by Nowitzki with a turnaround jumper from the post to give the Mavericks a 99-98 lead with 2:19 left.
"We could not handle Jerry Stackhouse at all," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "He kicked our (rear) down there. There's no way I should have stayed 1-on-1 with him as long as I did, because it was obvious we didn't have anyone who could guard him."
Howard tipped in a miss by Stackhouse, Nowitzki made two free throws between missed shots by Shaquille O'Neal and Stackhouse sank two foul shots, completing a 12-0 surge that gave Dallas a 105-98 lead with 22 seconds to go.
"I was just trying to stay aggressive," Howard said. "I knew the play was called for Jerry and I just went in there and wanted the rebound more."
"We missed five straight good shots - two wide-open threes and two Shaq post moves and a Udonis (Haslem) layup," Van Gundy said. "You miss all five of those and all of a sudden we can't get it done."
The Mavericks normally rely on dribble penetration and jump-shooting but instead went inside for their points. The Heat always go into the low post to O'Neal, who had 25 points and 13 rebounds but managed just a bucket in the final period.
"I really didn't get the ball as close to the basket as I like to," O'Neal said. "They (my teammates) were shooting a lot of jumpers. Rasual was shooting the ball well. Eddie (Jones) was shooting the ball, Flash (Wade) was shooting the ball well. Then there were times I got it and the shot clock was running low. They were in and out."
Stackhouse, who played just 26 games last season for Washington, attributes his production to being healthy for the first time in a while.
"I was a little tentative early on (in the season), getting my legs back and making sure everything is OK," he said. "I'm over that right now. I feel good. I'm still going to finger roll it, but in april I'm going to turn it over (and dunk)."
Erick Dampier stood up to O'Neal with 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Mavericks, who have won seven of their last nine games. Dallas won at Miami on November 11 and has taken eight of the last 10 meetings.
"Dampier is soft. Quote it, underline it, tape it and send it to him," O'Neal said. "Don't ask me about that guy, ever. You can tell him I said it. You guys try to compare him and rate him and match him up against me, but I'm telling you there's nothing there."
"If he said that, it must be true," Dampier said. "He just needs to look at the scoreboard and see that we won the ballgame. He outscored me, but I think 15 points and 14 rebounds playing aqainst him is OK."
Wade had 29 points and eight assists and Butler scored 20 points for the Heat, who had won three in a row.
Miami raced to an early 22-11 lead as O'Neal capped a 12-2 surge with a dunk. Dallas answered with a 22-4 run before Miami regrouped with a 14-4 burst, reclaiming a 40-37 lead midway through the second quarter.
Terry and Dampier scored eight points each in a 37-point third quarter that gave the Mavericks an 87-78 advantage entering the final period. The Heat scored nine straight points With O'Neal on the bench before he returned to cap a 16-2 run with a rolling hook that made it 94-89 with 5:08 to play.