In game that included many storylines, here’s how it became Goran Dragic’s night | Miami Herald

Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 105-99 win over the Dallas Mavericks (29-46) on Thursday at AmericanAirlines Arena. Miami (37-38) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit by outscoring Dallas 56-40 in the second half.

1. About 2,000 Slovenians were at AmericanAirlines Arena to watch two of their country’s best basketball players, Miami’s Goran Dragic and Dallas’ Luka Doncic. Dragic gave them a show, helping the Heat bounce back from Tuesday’s disappointing loss to the Magic.

In his first start since returning February from December knee surgery, Dragic finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in 37 minutes. It marked the second triple-double of the 32-year-old’s career, with the first coming as a member of the Rockets in a win over the Timberwolves on April 13, 2011 when he recorded 11 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

“It felt like we were in Ljubljana (Slovenia),” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s the guy that I saw when I went over there for a couple summers. He just becomes electrifying in front of his fans, a triple-double and the most inspiring play of the game.”

Dragic has been speaking recently about evolving as a player and shooting more threes to preserve his body. But Thursday’s performance included relentless attacks to the rim, as nine of his 17 shot attempts came from inside the paint. Also, most of Dragic’s assists came on drives to the basket.

Dragic shot just two threes Thursday.

“He’s had moments like this already,” Spoelstra said. “But when you’re coming back from an injury, just sometimes you feel better on certain days than you do other days. That’s just the nature of your body healing.”

In 15 games since returning from knee surgery, Dragic is averaging 13.3 points on 44.9 percent shooting from the field and 41.3 percent shooting on threes, 3.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 23.4 minutes.

“For me every game is important, especially after knee surgery,” Dragic said. “I’m trying to get back and of course games like this are good because it clears my head and reminds me that I can still play.”

Meanwhile, Doncic finished Thursday’s game with 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes. But the 20-year-old was held to just one point in the fourth quarter.

“Honestly, for the first time in my career, I was nervous before the game,” Doncic admitted. “It was different for me, but it was a special night. There were a lot of people here, a lot of Slovenians and having to play against Goran for the first time, it was different.”

Dragic and Doncic took a page out of Dwyane Wade’s book and exchanged jerseys after the game.

“I told D-Wade ‘I’m sorry D’ and he said for me to do my thing and then he was going to do his exchange,” Dragic said with a laugh. “It was a special thing for me.”

The Slovenian fans in the crowd cheered for both Dragic and Doncic, who helped lead Slovenia to EuroBasket gold in 2017. Fans were still in their seats an hour after the game had ended, as Dragic returned to the court in street clothes to chants of ‘MVP’ and thanked them for being there.

“I really appreciate them for flying here and buying plane tickets to come see me,” Dragic said. “I always feel like I have to put on a show even for my fans in Miami, that is my job. This game was something special for them because I was playing against Luka.”

2. It was also a cool scene at AmericanAirlines Arena because it was the final matchup between Wade and Dirk Nowitzki.

It marked the end of a list of memorable moments the two have shared.

There was the 2006 NBA Finals, when Wade dominated the series to defeat Nowitzki and the Mavericks. Then Nowitzki and the Mavericks earned revenge by shocking Wade and the Big 3 Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.

In February, NBA commissioner Adam Silver added Wade, 37, and Nowitzki, 40, to the All-Star Game as “special team roster additions” in anticipation of both retiring at the end of the season. Wade played for Team LeBron and Nowitzki played for Team Giannis.

The Heat recognized their final matchup Thursday with a tribute video that included Wade and Nowitzki highlights from both the 2006 Finals and 2011 Finals and featured the hashtag of #OneLastTime. The Mavericks did not show a tribute video for Wade during the Heat’s lone visit to Dallas on Feb. 13.

Wade finished Thursday’s win with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting and four steals in 28 minutes. Nowitzki scored 13 on 5-of-13 shooting.

“Let’s all work together and get both of these guys (Wade and Nowitzki) to come back next year,” Spoelstra said. “It’s too much fun, there’s too much history, too much class. These are fun moments. It transcends the game. You have two iconic players of this generation, two of the ultimate winners. But they’ve done it with a dignity and grace.”

Both played down the stretch Thursday, as Wade made a step-back jumper with 2:22 to play to put the Heat ahead by one. And Nowitzki missed a three that would have tied the game at 100 with 59.9 seconds to play.

Wade has already made it clear he’s retiring at the end of this season, and Nowitzki said he’ll wait until the offseason to decide whether he will return in 2019-20.

3. With a shorthanded roster, the Heat used its 25th starting lineup of the season Thursday. This one included the return of 7-Eleven, as Dragic and Dion Waiters started a game together for the first time since Dec. 16, 2017.

Miami was without Justise Winslow (right thigh bruise), Josh Richardson (bruised left heel) and Rodney McGruder (left knee soreness). So Spoelstra started Dragic, Waiters, Derrick Jones Jr., Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo.

“I texted [Dragic and Waiters] today saying that 7-Eleven was open again tonight,” Spoelstra said. “They both love it and they both have an identity to that. Whether that happens again the next game, who knows. Our team has been just a revolving door. It’s all hands on deck at this point. But Dion is getting in better shape and better rhythm. He’s getting in more of the optimal weight and body fat that we want him at, and you’re seeing the benefits from that commitment and work.”

This five-man group had played just eight minutes together this season entering Thursday, outscoring opponents by two points in that time. The lineup was a plus-seven in 15 minutes together against the Mavericks.

With the Heat forced to use another different starting lineup Thursday because of injuries, it’s just the continuation of a season-long trend. The 25 starting lineups is tied for the third-most used during a season in team history.

4. The Heat relied on two-way contract player Duncan Robinson to play important minutes, and that says something.

Spoelstra didn’t hesitate to bring Robinson in the game, as he first entered off the bench with 4:03 remaining in the first quarter. The 24-year-old rookie, who is known for his three-point shooting, went on to play 22 minutes.

It wasn’t Robinson’s best performance. He finished with six points on 2-of-9 shooting, including 1-of-7 on threes.

But Spoelstra is just encouraged Robinson kept shooting instead of passing on shots because the ball wasn’t going in.

“So many players, particularly young players, you don’t know how you fit in,” Spoelstra said. “You miss two or three, and you have guys like Goran, a Hall of Famer in Dwyane and somebody like Dion. Most young players would look around and say, ‘Maybe I should facilitate and let somebody else shoot it.’ But he’s here for that reason. He’s an elite shooter. One of the best shooters I’ve ever seen. But you have to show the courage to keep on shooting it. “

In 105 minutes with the Heat this season, Robinson has scored 31 on 11-of-31 shooting from the field and 7-of-25 shooting on threes.

Robinson, who went undrafted out of Michigan last year, averaged 21.4 points on 51.4 percent shooting from the field and 48.3 percent shooting on threes in 33 games for the G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce.

“You respect it when guys continue to show courage, and the guys even mentioned that in the locker room,” Spoelstra said. “That also shows the benefit of having an affiliate team where he’s been playing all season long. He had a fantastic season. He’s in shape, he’s in rhythm, he’s played game minutes that I didn’t feel any hesitation throwing him in the biggest game of the year. He’s ready for it.”

With the G League regular season over, two-way contract players like Robinson are allowed to spend the rest of the regular season with the Heat regardless of how many NBA days are remaining on their deals. These players are not eligible for the NBA playoffs, however, unless their contracts are converted to a standard NBA deal by the final day of the NBA regular season.

5. The Heat is back in the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot.

Thursday’s win over the Mavericks (paired with Orlando’s loss to Detroit) pushed the Heat back into the East’s eighth spot. Miami is one-half game ahead of No. 9 Orlando.

The Nets also lost Thursday, which puts Miami just one-half game behind No. 7 Brooklyn and one game behind No. 6 Detroit.

This playoff race continues to feel like it’s going to come down to the final day of the regular season. Miami has seven regular-season games remaining, with a Saturday road matchup against the Knicks up next.