The Miami Heat (16-6) will head to the American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Mavericks (12-13) in a Thursday night NBA showdown.

The task at hand will surely not be an easy one, as the struggling Dallas defense will be forced to go up against one of the NBA's best offenses in the Heat.

While injured Mavs star Dirk Nowitzski is almost ready to make his 2012-13 season debut, his re-insertion into the lineup isn't likely to bolster one of the league's worst defenses. Despite the team's woes, Nowitzki's in no rush to compromise his fitness.

"We'll just see how it goes. I mean, this is the first day we're stopping, pushing off, moving and we'll just see how it reacts. Get at least a couple practices under my belt, but there's no real date set, so we'll just have to wait and see how the knee responds to the first couple of workouts," he said.

On Tuesday, the Mavs offense led the team to a 107-00 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers after not winning a single game in a three-game road trip. Chris Kaman put up 20 points in the matchup while O.J. Mayo had 26. The two combined to score 17 of Dallas' final 19 points.

"It was important for us to come home and get a win," said Mayo.

Behind the play of Mayo and Kaman, the Mavs were victorious in its third consecutive home matchup.

"We try to involve those guys in a lot of things because they're both playing well. (Mayo's) aggression was really the key," coach Rick Carlisle told ESPN.

CLICK HERE to watch the Miami Heat face off against the Dallas Mavericks via free live stream. Coverage of the NBA game is set to begin at 9:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 20.

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