Luol Deng, Miami Heat torch Dallas 105-96

Once again, the Mavericks struggled against a quality opponent, dropping this game in brilliant fashion 105-96. Don't let the score fool you, it was not a single-digits close kind of game. This was a beating, and the Mavs were the ones being punished.

Despite sloppy play the Mavs kept it close in the first half, until the final four minutes when they were absolutely killed. Chris Bosh, majestic bird of prey that he is, finished the first half with 15 points, while Luol Deng (15) and Mario Chalmers (10) joined him in double digit scoring. For the majority of the first half the Heat were able to get to the rim at will, scoring what seemed to be all of their points in the paint.

Dirk had 16 first half points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Tyson Chandler almost had a first-half double double, scoring nine points and pulling down ten rebounds. Unfortunately for Dallas, players not named Dirk or Tyson were just 5-for-25 from the floor.

Parsons got off to a horrible start, going 0-for-6 from the floor, 0-for-3 from three point range, getting his two points in the first half off of free throws. Monta did not, in fact, have it all in the first half, going just 2-for-7 from the floor. He did have some strong drives to get to the foul line though, and finished the half with with nine points.

At the half the Mavericks found themselves down 55-44. But hey, everything has a silver lining.

Mavs down 55-44 at the half, so the positive here is that they can't blow a lead in the third quarter.

— Mavs Moneyball (@mavsmoneyball) November 10, 2014

Ellis would get things started quickly in the third, hitting a couple of quick jumpers that seemed to get him into rhythm. In fact, he scored the first ten points for the Mavs in the third quarter. Unfortunately for him, the Heat also kept scoring, and Dallas didn't really cut into the deficit at all.

Chandler reached his double-double in the third, tipping in a Monta miss. A Tyson dunk, courtesy of a Monta dime, cut the lead to four midway through the third quarter.

And then, Dwyane Wade took over because sometimes sports are bullshit. He quickly helped Miami regain an 11-point lead, leading everyone in Dallas and around the globe to simultaneously think the same thing.

The NBA will be a better place when Wade is gone.

— The Kobe Beef (@TheKobeBeef) November 10, 2014

It was also in the third quarter that Luol Deng reached 22 points on the night, leading me to wonder aloud what would have happened had Dallas signed him instead of Parsons, who maintained an high level of futility, missing his only shot of the half.

Meanwhile, this was a technical foul on Tyson Chandler.

I've lost all hope in officials, you guys.

At the end of the third the Heat had actually extended their halftime lead, outscoring the Mavs by five and taking an 83-67 lead into the final quarter.

It just got worse in the fourth because Luol Deng is mean and no one wearing white has any clue how to rotate on defense. Chris Bosh got away with pushing Dirk in the back, because big birds don't give a damn, leading to Dirk getting a technical foul. That's when I knew it was all over.

The best thing about the fourth quarter? Jae Crowder. I wish I was kidding. Crowder had two big shots to cut into Miami's lead, and finished with X points in the quarter, and on the night.

The lead swelled to as big as 22 for Miami before they called off the dogs, letting the Mavs drag their mangled bodies to the locker room.I mean, we could talk about the desperate comeback attempt by the bench, but it isn't really worth it.

Monta finished with 23, Dirk with 17, Tyson with 16 (and 15 boards), and Jae Crowder with 15. Parsons finished with four points and Dallas shot 42.2% from the floor as a team.

Meanwhile for Miami, Deng finished with 30, Wade with 20, and Bosh and Chalmers with 18 each.

The Mavs drop to 4-3 on the season, and are starting to pile up questions about how good this team actually is.

Next up, the Sacramento Kings come to town on Tuesday. Maybe Dallas can right the ship a bit against the purple people from Cali.