Five Stars: Miami 105, Dallas 96

First Star

Luol Deng (MIA) 26.0

Out of the 169 players to take the court last night in the NBA, none had a higher gamescore than Deng, who earned our first star for the first time. After draining seven-of-eight field-goal attempts in the first half, he closed up with a 13-for-19 night, missing only one two-point attempt while going four-for-nine from deep. He also collected five defensive rebounds, four assists, and one steal, along with one foul in 26:41 on the floor. Over the course of his career, it was Deng's 14th game with 30 or more points.

We still have a lot to figure out. Their game plan today, they doubled Bosh and D-Wade, and we did a good job of moving the ball and had a lot of open jumpers. - Deng

Second Star

Chris Bosh (MIA) 19.1

Bosh led all players in floor time, beating teammate Deng by nine seconds at 36:50. He made seven-of-eight two-point shots, missing both of his long distance bombs and sinking six-of-11 from the charity stripe. He had one of Miami's two double-doubles on the night, also adding 10 rebounds (two offensive), five assists, and one steal. He turned the ball over three times on his way to 20 points.

Third Star

Tyson Chandler (DAL) 18.6

Tyson Chander earned Dallas’ top star on the night, with the Mavericks’ only double double. He lit up the scoreboard for 16 points on seven-of-10 shooting from the field while crashing the boards for 10 offensive and five defensive rebounds. He made two-of-three free throws, dished out two dimes, blocked one shot, committed one foul and turned the ball over three times in 29:48.

Fourth Star

Mario Chalmers (MIA) 16.6

Chalmers continued his Jeckyl and Hyde impression this season with a strong night and our fourth star by coming off the bench to hit three-of-five from outside the arc and finishing with 18 points on six-of-nine shooting overall. He also made all three of his free throws, collected one rebound, distributed four helpers, made two steals and committed four fouls with one turnover.

Fifth Star

Monta Ellis (DAL) 16.5

Ellis led the Mavs with 34:08 on the floor and with 23 points. He made eight-of-14 from the floor, two-for-five from deep, and five-of-six from the line. He added five assists, a rebound from each end of the floor, two turnovers and five personal fouls.

The Rest

Dwyane Wade (MIA) 15.8
Jae Crowder (DAL) 13.8
Dirk Nowitzki (DAL) 13.1
Udonis Haslem (MIA) 6.8
Jameer Nelson (DAL) 6.2
Joah McRoberts (MIA) 4.6
Shawne Williams (MIA) 3.4
Chandler Parsons (DAL) 2.7
Al-Farouq Aminu (DAL) 1.9
Devin Harris (DAL) 1.9
Brandan Wright (DAL) 1.4
Jose Barea (DAL) 0.8
Richard Jefferson (DAL) 0.5
Charlie Villanueva (DAL) -0.7
Shabazz Napier (MIA) -0.9
James Ennis (MIA) -1.4
Norris Cole (MIA) -2.2

This was a very, very good win - our best win of the year so far. It was a challenge to play six games in nine nights. - Wade

Final Observations

This game had no shortage of possible heroes, as future Hall-of-Famers Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki each also had a figure over 13, as did Jae Crowder.

Crowder played just 12:05, but hit three free throws, two three-pointers, and three two-pointers with only one miss from inside the arc. He totaled 15 points, and had far and away the highest gamescore per minute.

Chalmers was the only "point guard" to not post a negative gamescore on the night for the Heat, as Norris Cole and Shabazz Napier combined to go 0-for-seven with four turnovers in 39:37.

Next up for the Heat, a home matchup with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. Between now and then - a little well deserved rest for the weary.