Miami Heat draw first blood; Beat Dallas Mavericks 92-84 in game-1 of NBA Finals
Like many times during the regular season, the Big Three of the Miami Heat yet again found just the right moment to turn on the heat and Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks did not have an answer.
Forward LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh combined to score 65 points as the Heat beat the Mavericks 92-84 in the first game of the NBA finals on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Arena. With this victory, Miami snatched a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
King James led the Heat with 24 points, shooting 9-for-16 from the field, nine rebounds, and five assists. Dwyane Wade came into his own in the third quarter and finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. Chris Bosh followed them with 19 points and nine rebounds while Mario Chalmers came off bench 12 points in the victory.
Dirk Nowitzki once again led the Mavs, scoring a game-high 27 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. However, Heat lived up to their defensive reputation and choked Nowitzki to his worse shooting in this year’s playoffs, a paltry 7-for-18 from the field. Shawn Marion added 16 points and 10 rebounds while Jason Terry ended with 12 points for the Mavs, who lost their fifth straight NBA Finals game to Miami.
Dallas and Miami played a very close game in the first quarter of the game. Terry scored half of his 12 points in the first as Dallas managed to take a one-point lead, going into the second. In a tightly contested second quarter, the Heat made their surge early and raced on to a 30-26 lead with 05:32 to go in the break. However, the Mavs once again found their groove and made some late shots to maintain a single-point, 44-43, lead after the first half.
Dallas came out strong in the third quarter and went on a 7-0 run to widen their lead to 51-43. The Heat however remained in the hunt. Wade and James started to find their zone by that point and combined to make it a one-point game with 01:12 left in the third. Miami took the lead in the ensuing passage. With 16 seconds to go in the third and the score at 62-61 in Miami’s favour, James got the possession and strolled down the court to run down the clock. With just four seconds remaining, the King made his move and nailed a dagger from downtown to make it 65-61 for Miami, heading into the fourth.
Trailing by four points after three quarters, Nowitzki hit a pair of free throws at the start of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to two. The Heat however continued to play with intensity and stretched their lead to 79-73. Wade, the hero of that 2006 championship, hit a three-pointer with 3:06 remaining to put Miami ahead by 82-73. James then hit a driving dunk shot and scored one of the two free throws to widen the Heat’s lead to 10 points, 85-75, the largest lead of the game.
With 01:36 to remaining on the clock, Haslem fouled Nowitzki and the German sharpshooter scored two-of-two free throws to cut the margin to 82-75. Miami though went on a 10-6 run down the stretch to make it 92-81, with 10 ticks to go. Jason Kidd hit a three-pointer at the buzzer but the Heat had already won the game.
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