NBA Finals: Dallas Mavericks 44 – Miami Heat 43 - Game-1 Halftime Analysis
Power forward Dirk Nowitzki had 13 points, shooting 4-for-9 from the field and two rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks led the Miami Heat 44-43 at halftime in the first game of the National Basketball Association (NBA) finals 2011.
Jason Terry came off the bench with 12 points while Shawn Marion chipped in with seven points, six rebounds, and two assists for the Mavericks.
Chris Bosh played well and headed the Heat with 13 points, seven rebounds, and two assists at halftime. Forward LeBron James and Mario Chalmers scored 10 points apiece for Miami at the end of first two quarters.
First Quarter
The Heat entered the American Airlines Arena with a hope to take a full advantage of the home-court. The Mavericks, on the other hand were confident to draw the first blood on the back of their German scoring machine, Nowitzki.
The Mavericks’ centre Tyson Chandler had a personal foul at the very first shot of the game and Bosh scored 2-of-2 free throws to make it 2-0 for the Heat. James hit a turnaround jump shot in the next second as Miami took a 4-0
initial lead.
The Big Dirk then took the charge and had a jump shot and a pair of free throws to knot the game at 4-4 with 09:16 to go in the first quarter. Both teams played a sloppy basketball for the next two minutes as some easy available
shots were missed at both ends. However, Miami went on a 7-1 run to take an 11-5 lead at 05:30 mark.
The Mavs managed to cut the deficit down to one with 03:26 remaining in the quarter. James however hit a three-pointer to widen the Heat’s lead to 16-12. Jason Terry bounced back for the Mavs though and hit a 3-pointer and a pair
of free throw in the last two minutes to put them ahead by 17-16 with 37 seconds to go in the opening quarter. Chalmers then missed a crucial three-pointer in the closing second of the quarter that could have given them a two-point lead after one.
Second Quarter
The Heat opened the second quarter on 4-2 run to take a 21-20 advantage. Some very easy shots were missed the players of Miami in the next two minutes of the quarter and Dallas took advantage of that. Haslem fouled Nowitzki with
09:06 to go in the first half, providing him with an opportunity to score two of the two free throws and make it 22-21 for the Mavs.
However, the Heat played some quality shots in the next few minutes and carried a 35-31 lead with 03:39 to go in the second. Dallas scored the next seven points of the quarter to take a 38-35 lead. Miami however responded and carried
a 41-40 edge with 59 seconds to go. Terry has the last laugh though as he hit a dagger for three to put the Mavericks ahead by one point, 44-43, at halftime.
Tags: