At 3:59 of Monday night’s fourth quarter, Cooper Flagg drove into an offensive charge. Twenty seconds later, he did it again. After Flagg stole a bad pass from Davion Mitchell at 3:45, Dallas failed to turn the takeaway into a shot when Flagg was called for another charge at 3:39.
Kyrie Irving then lost the ball at 3:11, and Bam Adebayo dunked for Miami three seconds later.
Just like that, Dallas’ 106-99 lead had become 106-103.
The Mavericks held on to beat the Heat 113-109 at Kaseya Center, improving to 2-2. The result deserved credit, particularly because Dallas answered several Miami surges during the night. But the closing sequence made the central issue plain: a seven-point lead is not much protection when the offense cannot preserve its next possession.
Dallas built that margin through the same creators who later made the finish uncomfortable. At 4:52, Flagg converted an 11-foot turnaround jumper and the free throw that followed for a 104-97 advantage. At 4:23, he added a driving floater to make it 106-99. Those were important baskets because they created room. They did not make the next possession optional.
The first charge erased a chance to keep pressure on Miami. The second followed Flagg’s steal of Mitchell’s errant pass, turning a defensive play into another empty trip. Irving’s bad pass completed the stretch, and Adebayo’s dunk gave the Heat a clean response. Dallas had gone from controlling the margin to defending a game in which one Miami 3-pointer could have changed the mood entirely.
The Mavericks found two valuable answers. Morez Johnson Jr. kept alive a possession after Washington missed a 3-pointer and then tipped in the second chance at 2:40, extending Dallas’ lead to 108-103. On the next important Dallas opportunity, Flagg missed a driving layup, but the Mavericks retained the ball after an offensive rebound.
Andrew Wiggins was called for a loose-ball foul, and at 2:02 Flagg knocked down a 3-pointer assisted by Irving for a 111-105 lead.
That basket mattered because Miami was making its own possessions last. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored at 1:41, and Adebayo’s tip at 50 seconds cut Dallas’ advantage to 111-109. Before Adebayo scored, Miami had gathered offensive rebounds after misses by Pelle Larsson and Wiggins.
The Heat did not need a perfectly organized possession to get within one basket; Dallas had given the game enough loose edges to keep the door open.
The defense finally slammed it. With 31 seconds remaining, Flagg blocked Wiggins’ 3-point attempt. Zaccharie Risacher secured the rebound, and after a Dallas timeout, Flagg drove for the basket with 10 seconds left.
Risacher then blocked Mitchell’s layup attempt with 5.5 seconds to go, with P.J. Washington collecting the rebound. Dallas’ late rim protection covered for its late ball security, though relying on both blocks was a risky way to finish a four-point win.
