NBA Finals Game 1: Dallas at Miami (May 31) After a week off the Finals were finally going to start. Both teams opened the game struggling with their shot. Miami scored the first 4 points of the game and a jumper by Dirk Nowitzki put Dallas on the board 80 seconds in. But the teams would combine to score just 5 points over the next 3 1/2 minutes - Dallas missed 4 shots and shot 3-4 FT and Miami shot 1-8 FG. A 3-point play by LeBron James gave Miami an 11-5 lead with 5:30 remaining. But 6 points would be the largest lead of the quarter as Jason Kidd then hit consecutive 3-pointers (surrounding a layup by Dwyane Wade) and Dallas pulled within 13-11 with 4:15 to go. James hit a 3-pointer, but Jason Terry answered with a 3 with 1:50 to go and 2 free throws by Terry capped the quarter scoring (as the teams missed their last 5 shots. Dallas led 17-16 after 1. Although defense gets some credit for the low scoring, there were simply a lot of missed shots (including some with good looks). Dallas shot just 4-14 FG (but 3 of their makes were 3-pointers (3-6 3s) and Miami shot 6-21 FG (including 1-6 3-pointers). Dallas shot 6-8 FT and Miami shot 3-5 FT. Both teams had 11 rebounds, but Miami had 4 offensive rebounds while Dallas had 2. James had 8 points, Chris Bosh had 6 points, and Wade had 2 points as the 3 scored all of Miami's 1st quarter points. Bosh had a power slam on a putback to open the 2nd quarter scoring and the lead went back and forth over the first 6 minutes of the quarter. A jumper by Shawn Marion gave Dallas a 26-25 lead with 6:20 to go, but a layup by James and 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers gave Miami a 30-26 lead with 5:30 left and Miami would hold a small lead over the next few minutes (but 4 points would be the largest lead of the quarter). A jumper by Bosh gave Miami a 35-31 lead with 3:40 to go, but Dallas then rattled off the next 7 points (capped by nice passing from Nowitzki to Tyson Chandler to Marion for an easy bucket) to give Dallas a 38-35 lead with 1:45 left. Terry hit a 3-pointer to give Dallas a 4 point lead, but Chalmers answered with a 3 13 seconds later and that ended the quarter scoring (with Mike Miller barely missing a 3-pointer at the quarter buzzer). Dallas led 44-43 at the half. Both teams scored 27 points in the 2nd quarter as both shot 9-20 FG (though Miami shot 5-8 3-pointers while Dallas shot 3-6 3-pointers. Dallas shot 6-7 FT and Miami shot 4-6 FT. Rebounding remained a problem for Dallas as Miami had 5 offensive rebounds in the quarter. Nowitzki had 9 points in the 2nd. Chalmers had 10 points on 3-3 3-pointers (no 2-point attempts) and 1-2 FT. Dallas opened the 3rd quarter strong in scoring the first 7 points of the quarter, capped by a corner 3-pointer by DeShawn Stevenson, to give Dallas a 51-43 lead with 10 minutes remaining and Miami called an early timeout. Out of the timeout, Wade drove for 2 and the foul and the game stayed close. A jumper by James pulled Miami within 51-53 with 7:20 to go, but Dallas would continue to hold a small lead. A layup by Udonis Haslem tied the game at 57-57 with 2:35 left, but a dunk by Chandler on the break put Dallas back on top. But James drained a wide open 3-pointer with 1:10 to go, Juwan Howard hit 2 free throws, Nowitzki hit 2 free throws, and James nailed a 3-pointer at the quarter buzzer to give Miami a 65-61 lead after 3. The Heat went on a 12-4 run to close the quarter, as Dallas scored just 4 points over the last 5:30 as Dallas shot just 1-6 FG and 2-4 FT during the run. Miami out-scored Dallas 22-17 in the 3rd quarter as both teams again struggled with their shots. Miami shot 7-20 FG (but 3-7 3-pointers) and Dallas shot just 6-18 FG (including 1-2 3-pointers. Miami shot 5-7 FT and Dallas shot 1-2 FT. And Miami added to their offensive rebound total with 4 more (making it 13 through 3 quarters). A 3-pointer by Miller gave Miami a 68-63 lead with 11 minutes left and Miami would continue to hold a small lead, though no larger than 6 points, over the next 6 minutes. A jumper by Wade gave Miami a 77-70 lead with 4:15 remaining. Marion converted a 3-pointer lead to pull Dallas within 4 points, but Bosh was fouled inside and hit 2 free throws and Wade blocked Marion and then Wade swished a 3-pointer to give Miami an 82-73 lead with 3:05 to go and Dallas called timeout. Nowitzki was fouled an hit 2 free throws, but James drove for a dunk and was fouled and hit the free throw to give Miami an 85-75 lead with 2:45 left - the first double-digit lead of the game. Nowitzki did hit a free throw jumper 10 seconds later. Chandler blocked Bosh and Terry missed a 3-pointer with 2 minutes to go. James missed a shot late in the clock (ended up being a 24 seconds violation) and Nowitzki was fouled driving. He hit both free throws to pull Dallas within 79-85 with 1:35 left. Chalmers was fouled (with both teams in the penalty) and hit both free throws with 1:20 to go. After Kidd missed a 3-pointer, Miami pushed the ball and Wade feed Bosh for the dunk and nail in the coffin in giving Miami an 89-79 lead with 1:10 remaining (yeah, Miami's next bucket - an alley-oop dunk from Wade to James - was on most highlights, but it was the Bosh bucket that put the game out of reach). James' dunk did give Miami the largest lead of the game at 12 points - but a dunk by Chandler, 1-2 FT by Bosh, and a (meaningless) 3-pointer by Kidd with 3 seconds left capped the scoring. Miami won 92-84. Miami leads the series 1-0. It wasn't a game that either team will look back on fondly, but Miami will be happy with the win. Neither team shot well - and not all of it was defense as a lot of good looks resulted in clanks. But LeBron James and Dwyane Wade turned up the heat late in the 4th quarter with some timely shots and built up a bit of a lead in what had been a tight game throughout - the largest lead of the game was 8 points through 44 minutes. So Miami holds home court and Dallas will trying again on Thursday to take a game in Miami. Miami remains undefeated at home in these playoffs and it is the first time in these playoffs that Dallas trails in a series. The Big 3 did what was expected for the Heat, but the surprising factor was that Miami's bench out-scored Dallas' bench (27-17). For the numbers, Miami shot just 38.8% (31-80) FG but Dallas shot worse and had fewer attempts at 37.3% (25-67) FG [with both the attempts and makes being one off Dallas' playoff record lows]. The other surprising factor was that Miami shot better behind the arc in connecting on 11-24 3-pointers while Dallas shot 9-22 3-pointers. Dallas did shoot more free throws at 25-32 FT while Miami shot 19-26 FT [I was surprised that the attempts were as high as they were as I thought the refs were letting a lot go (both ways) inside]. Miami out-rebounded Dallas 46-36 including (a much post-game talked about) 16-6 offensive. Despite having 10 more offensive rebounds, Dallas actually had a 16-15 edge in 2nd chance points. The turnovers were fair for both teams (neither excellent nor terrible) as Miami had 12 turnovers on which Dallas scored 13 points and Dallas had 11 turnovers on which Miami scored 12 points. As I said, it was the Big 3 for Miami and it is hard to beat them when all 3 play well. LeBron James had 24 points including 9-16 FG and an impressive 4-5 3-pointers. And it was an all-around game with 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Chris Bosh also had the all-around game with 19 points (poor shooting at 5-18 FG, but did shoot 9-12 FT), 9 rebounds including 5 offensive, and 3 assists. Dwyane Wade had 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. 7 of his points came in the 4th quarter. That's 65 points, 28 rebounds, and 14 assists amongst the 3 players. And they got help as Mario Chalmers came off the bench and contributed 12 points and Udonis Haslem had 7 points and 6 rebounds and helped defend Nowitzki - both played lots of minutes in the 2nd half. And that was partly due to the struggles of Joel Anthony and Mike Bibby as both starters played less than 6 minutes in the 3rd quarter and none in the 4th. Anthony missed his only shot and had 3 rebounds in 18 minutes. Bibby misses 4 3-pointers (his only attempts, most were open as Dallas was doubling off of him) and had 3 assists and 2 steals in 14 minutes. Mike Miller chipped in 6 points (on 2 3-pointers) and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes. Juwan Howard got in for 8 minutes and had 2 points and 3 rebounds (all offensive). Both teams went with a 9 man rotation. Dallas also had 3 players play well. Dirk Nowitzki played well as did Shawn Marion, but neither were stellar and the 3rd player was Brendan Haywood in backup center minutes. Though Nowitzki did put up 27 points, it wasn't a dominating 27 and he didn't get enough help. Nowitzki shot 7-18 FG and 12-12 FT and did have 8 rebounds. 10 of his points came in the 4th quarter (and no other Mav had more than 3 4th quarter points). Marion had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Terry was the only other Mav in double-digits with 12 points - but all came in the 1st half as he did not attempt a shot in the 3rd quarter and missed 3 shots (including 2 3s) in the 4th. Terry shot just 3-10 FG including 3-7 3-pointers and 3-4 FT in 33 minutes. Jason Kidd had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists in 36 minutes. Tyson Chandler had 9 points and just 4 rebounds in 34 minutes. DeShawn Stevenson had 6 points on 2-3 3-pointers (his only attempts) and 2 rebounds in 15 minutes. As I said, Haywood played with hustle, rebounds, and defense. He had 3 points on 0-1 FG and 3-6 FT, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 14 minutes. Miami prevented most of J.J. Barea's drives and he struggled even when the defense was not strong. Barea had just 2 points on 1-8 FG and 3 assists in 18 minutes. Peja Stojakovic was worse - he missed the 3 3-pointers he attempted (his only shots) and I think he was open on all 3 and had 2 steals and 3 fouls in 15 minutes. Dallas' bench players combined to shoot just 4-22 FG. It was revealed after the game that Dirk Nowitzki suffered a torn tendon in his left middle finger late in the game (and continued to play after the injury). Both teams down-played the injury (both after the game and today) as it is his non-shooting hand, others are playing injured (Mike Miller has a sore shoulder as does Dwyane Wade (both were seen wincing during the game)), it's the Finals, and Nowitzki has played through injuries before. Quotes Erik Spoelstra: "Well, again, that was a grind. It's tough. That's a very skilled offensive team. We didn't get into much of an offensive flow the entire game. This was more of probably a defensive battle, both teams really holding down the paint and protecting and trying to close out to get the 3-point shooters. But we were able to get some defensive stops there at the end to create some distance. But it's a challenge. It's obviously a challenge because of their skill level and shooting. It's one game and that's it. We're already moving on to Game 2. We have to continue to stay focused to defend this home court." Spoelstra on Bosh and Chalmers: "For a while it was tough for us to put points on the board. We were getting some decent looks. You have to give their defense some credit also forcing us into some tough opportunities. And those guys did give us a little bit of a spark, keep us in striking range. And then when we got to the 2nd half, we were able to defend, cause some misses and some turnovers that gave us some extra possessions." Spoelstra on Miami's 16 offensive rebounds: "I think a few of them happened in the zone where their bodies are off of us. That's a little bit more than we normally get. We were also missing a lot. So there were more opportunities for our guys to go up there and get the tips. The guys were aggressive." Spoelstra on Wade: "All I care about was he made a lot of winning plays on both ends of the court there in the 4th quarter. I'm not going to overanalyze his 1st half." Spoelstra on Dallas's strong opening of the 3rd quarter: "They're going to make some shots. They have some of the best shot makers in this league. Their skill level is so high. It was that last 3-point shot by Stevenson. That's not us. That's not our identity, to come down in a semi-transition and it gets kicked to him out in the 3-point line and no one makes a rotation. He checked for the wind. He had 3 days to shoot that. And we didn't get anybody near him. We're a team that has to be aggressive. We have to attack. We have to be physical. And we have to be on edge for 48 minutes - particularly with a team like this that's so dangerous with their shooting. They'll go on runs during the game, because of their ability to put points on the board." Spoelstra on Wade on defense and offense: "Two-way player. That's what we expect of him. LeBron and Chris and our other guys. But they do that as well as anybody. Commit to both sides of the court. They know they have to be play makers for us defensively, especially when we're a little bit small with that lineup down the stretch. And he's done it over and over. He understands the importance of defending and making plays. And sometimes it's not about the schemes. Sometimes it's about transcending that with your effort, your athleticism and your ability. And he was able to do that tonight." Spoelstra on James in the 4th: "I think he was reading the game well. They were doing a good job of corralling him on pick-and-rolls and also protecting the paint when we did attack. So he didn't force it. But he was reading the game, getting off the ball when he needed to. I think there was only a handful of possessions in the game where the ball was sticking and it didn't get side to side. But we had some good ball movement possessions there in the 4th." Spoelstra on defending Nowitzki: "I don't think it really matters what you do - your schematics, who is defending him - he's going to get his average at least every single game. I think it's uncanny, because of his shooting ability, his skill level. So I don't really know if we affected him that much." Spoelstra on Miami's bench out-scoring Dallas' bench: "Yeah, but I never judged our bench by reading that final line on the boxscore. Our bench has been important for us all season long. A lot of times they've given us defensive energy. We've been able to change the momentum of games with that energy lineup. But also, to be frank, we're a little bit healthier now with Mike [Miller] and UD [Haslem]. We'll see. I don't anticipate every game that we would out-score their bench." Dwyane Wade: "I was just aggressive. We understand that this is a kind of game that we wanted to play. We had them where we wanted them in the sense of points. You know, they wasn't scoring a lot on us. Offensively, we just executed and guys made plays." Wade on the poor shooting: "That's kind of the way we've been winning games of late. And you got to stay with it. You can't get frustrated because the ball's not going in. There's other ways you can dominate the game. And we was able to do that tonight. I thought we did a great job in the 2nd half of rebounding the ball, limiting them to 1 shot as much as possible." Wade: "The 4th quarter we were able to go into the 4th quarter with a 4 point lead. After LeBron hit that tough 3 to end the quarter and gave us a little momentum. And we just used the 4th quarter, said all right, defensively we have to win this game. Understanding that Dallas is a great offensive team. So I thought we played well defensively and they allowed us to get out and get some good shots on the other end. Obviously I made some shots tonight. But we all made plays down the stretch that helped us win the ballgame." Wade: "I came out in the 3rd quarter and I thought I was very aggressive before I went to the bench to get my rest. And I just wanted to continue that when I came back in in the 4th. I worked hard, I've been working hard on my shot. I'm very confident. I was able to get a few to go. That's all it was. Just confidence. Guys gave me the ball, and put me in the position to do it. Just to try to come through for my team." Wade on Bosh: "Well, it's kind of like watching Chris grow during this playoff series. Obviously, we all had an opportunity to watch him play a little bit in the regular season, and not much in the playoffs. But he's been up for the challenge. He said he had a bad game today. We looked and said, I'll take 19 [points] and 9 [rebounds]. He's just an efficient player. So we have the luxury of having a guy like that, that is so versatile that can do so many different things. Just watching him grow up as a player in this playoff series has been awesome." Wade on he and James combining for 46 points: "Well, obviously, that's one of the ideas of us playing together. For one individual to not have to carry that load. Obviously we love to have a guy explode for a 40 point night. But more so I think what he wanted me to do was look back at how aggressive I was, the mentality that I had." Wade on the defense on Nowitzki: "I think obviously Dirk is a great player. He's going to make shots in this series. And I thought our guys did a good job of paying attention to the detail of what we wanted to do. And just make it tough on him as much as possible. He still had 27 points, but Dirk is a very efficient player. So we'll take 7-18 [FG] every game we can. There's going to be some nights we're going to play the same defense and he's going to hit those shots. We can't get down about it and guys can't get frustrated. You understand he's one of the best scorers and shot makers that this game has seen." Wade on James' 3-pointer at the end of the 3rd quarter: "Momentum. I knew what he was going to do. He let the clock go all the way down to 4 before he decided to move. When he had it in his right hand, I knew what he was going to do. I shoot with him after practice every day, so I know him. Not many guys can make that. It's a tough shot to make. Going to your right, you have to be strong to make something like that. But that was just about a momentum swing for our team and a confidence boost going into the fourth quarter with a 4 point lead." LeBron James on guarding Terry: "Whatever it takes for our team. You know, if I need to be on Terry or anyone on their team, I try to take the challenge. Our defense is pretty good. It's never me just guarding someone individually. But I do take the challenge on any individual matchup that I'm against. And tonight happened to be Terry mostly in the 2nd half." James on the 2nd half: "We needed to lock in. We came out in the 3rd quarter not paying attention to detail. Gave them an open 3. DeShawn Stevenson hit an open 3. Dirk hit an open shot at the top of the key. We just weren't paying attention to detail about how we were going to defend this team coming into the game. Once we slowed down and got back into what we know, what our strong point is - and that's getting stops - we were able to get out, DWade was able to get an and-1. Make another shot and we made a run." James on what he thinks going into the 4th quarters: "Defense. I think in order for us to win basketball games, we have to defend and we have to get stops, and our offense will speak for itself when we continue to get stops. I think for me going into the 4th quarter, I know it's winning time. That's when the game is won. So I got to try to dominate my individual matchup defensively, and then try to execute as best as possible. Try to get good looks, not turn the ball over. And we did a good job of doing that tonight. We got stops and we executed on the offensive end." James on his first Finals win: "DWade said that to me. Congratulated me after the game on my first Finals victory. I mean, it feels good because it's the first game. And we played well as a team. We got a lot of work to do. We'll come in with the same mindset on Thursday and looking forward to this challenge once again that's in front of us. It's one in the books. We're excited about this game. Tomorrow we prepare for Game 2, and obviously there's ways we can get better." James on Dallas' defense: "They play a lot of zone, and the zone is to pack the paint, keep our drivers out of the paint - myself and DWade - and dare us to shoot 3s. I think our bench came in and did a great job - Rio [Chalmers], Mike Miller did a great job against that zone, knocking shots down. We needed that boost off the bench. We know how strong their bench is, and our bench matched them tonight. And they played extremely well. When they were in the zone, they knocked down shots. Rio gave us a big boost. Mike Miller gave us a big boost, and everyone contributed." James on his shooting 3s: "Yeah, dare me to shoot, that's pretty much gone. I think people will still live with keeping myself and keeping DWade on the perimeter, but it's just my confidence. I put a lot of hard work into it, and understanding that you got to be a two-way player in this league. You have to be able to shoot the ball, you have to be able to drive and do other things to not only get yourself involved, but get your teammates involved. Tonight once again I shot the ball extremely well from the outside, but more importantly, it helped our team get a win. That's what it's all about." Chris Bosh on the timeout after Stevenson's 3-pointer early in the 3rd quarter: "The main thing that we were talking about was just to get a good shot at the basket and get another stop. That wasn't our style. That wasn't the way that we play defense. And we gave up too many wide open looks. We've been in that situation before. Everybody is calm. We began to challenge each other and challenge the team. And we just talked about the points that we needed to talk about, and we moved on." Bosh on Wade: "He's such an explosive offensive player, he spoils you a little bit. You kind of look for that every game. When it comes, it's like okay, here it is. He can really get it going. He really heats up at times. He's a major part of this team's offense, and any time that he's going, it's great. He's so unselfish to where if he doesn't have the shot or 2 people are playing him, he's going to make the correct pass. So you really have to respect his play making abilities and his ability to put the ball in the hole." Bosh: "I know they're going to pay a lot of attention defensively to both of those guys [Wade and James], so I really used the beginning of games to kind of get myself involved and get some shots at the rim, maybe take it a few times and try to get to the free throw line. Any time I get myself involved in the game, you know, I have more confidence. If I score, I score. But, you know, sometimes you have to know what the ball feels like when you shoot it, when you're taking it to the rack. It increases your confidence as the game goes on." Bosh on Miami's defense: "It's a normal night. I think we can do better. We made a lot of mistakes in the halfcourt sets. They're going to challenge you. They're a great team. We can't make those mistakes. I think we can play much better offensively and defensively, and hopefully the next game - well, tomorrow, let's take it slow. Tomorrow we'll look at the film, we'll see where we made our mistakes, we'll make adjustments and move on from there." Bosh on if Dallas' zone resulted in more Miami offensive rebounds: "I mean sometimes. When you play zones it's tough to find guys to box out. That's one thing about zones is when you're playing it, you're not matched up with anybody. You're just playing an area. We know that we can crash the boards. Any time that we can get 2nd chance opportunities, it's gold for us. Because I think you've seen the series that we've played. So I think that's an area we can improve on as well. We can do better on the offensive boards, and really challenge them to block us out. And when we do get the ball, we can, you know, get another shot at the basket. That's going to be huge in the series." Bosh on the defense on Nowitzki: "I really don't know what worked against him. He's going to score. Flat out, he's going to score. You can't really stop him. We just have to slow him down and just give him different looks and make things tough on him. He got to the free throw line quite a bit. I think we can clean that up. And he got some layups. But other than that, we just have to contest all his shots. You know, don't give him any easy catches, because he's too good." Udonis Haslem on defending Nowitzki: "We won the game, but for me to just try to make it tough, you know. He's a great player. He's going to make his shots. You can't get discouraged. You've got to keep going and keep chipping away at it." Haslem: "Our 4th quarter defense has been great for us all playoffs. And down the stretch tonight, it was the same thing. We've got playmakers on the bench. Dwyane came up with a great shot and a great block on Shawn Marion. And we were able to get out there and make some shots offensively." Haslem: "We expected what we got. We got a good defense. They're coming at you with that zone and they kind of confuse you a little bit. You end up standing around a little bit, just trying to figure out what they're in. We have to understand that and just keep chipping away offensively, keep moving the ball, and keep trusting our guys." Haslem on if both teams' shooting problems were nerves or trying to get into a flow: "Probably a little bit of both. Trying to spar a little bit. I think as we settled in, you know, moved the ball, got our defense up a little bit, got our guys on the break, LeBron and Dwyane kind of got some easy baskets and settled a little bit on offense and were able to make shots." Mario Chalmers on the bench play: "We just want to be a factor in the series. We know that starting 5 is going to do what they do to help us win. Off the bench, we just have to come in and do what we can do to keep it going." Chalmers on the defensive plan: "We just tried to keep a body on Dirk, make sure he doesn't get any easy shots and keep him out the paint." Chalmers on Haslem's defense on Nowitzki: "He did a great job. He made sure Dirk didn't get any easy looks early." Rick Carlisle: "Shots are going to be hard to come by. Both teams are really locked in and making a strong defensive effort. We've been playing series - our Portland series was the first team to 80 was winning those games. This is nothing new to us. Lakers are not a real fast tempo team. Oklahoma City played faster. We know that the tempo is going to vary some but, by and large, we got to play better just overall. We have to be more opportunistic. Our shot making has to be better and our rebounding has to be better. We're minus 10 on offensive boards. That's 10 more opportunities that they have the ball and we don't. Those are 2 big areas." Carlisle on the rebounding difference: "Well, our bigs have to be active, containing their great players on the perimeter. So it draws them away from the basket some. I'll look at the film. I can give you a better answer tomorrow. I don't know every single play. Look, a lot of the game is a scramble. We have to keep 5 guys in there. We can't have that kind of deficit. You leave too much to chance." Carlisle on Dallas' offensive rebounds: "We've been fine there. We had more 2nd chance points than them. But the biggest issue is there's 10 more times we don't get the ball and they have it. So the possession of the ball is key. Carlisle: "We'll play better. I'm very certain of that. Again, we had some opportunities that - shots we normally make, they didn't go down. And so that was tough. But look, it's a long series. And we'll adjust and do the things we need to do to get ourselves in a better position. This is a very good basketball team we're playing. They were more opportunistic tonight than we were. That's been one of the traits of our run. We've been very opportunistic. Tonight we weren't as much." Carlisle on the 3rd quarter: "We started the quarter on a 7-0 run, which got us an 8 point lead, which gave us the momentum. Then they answered. They responded well. Again, during that period they were making a run at us. I thought we did a good job of hanging in. And, again, I thought there were some critical situations where we needed to somehow come up with one loose ball here or go make a shot there that would have made a big difference. But it didn't happen. We've got to look at the film, see what's what, in terms of what adjustments are appropriate. But we have to play better all around basketball. We have to make more shots." Carlisle: "They're a very good defensive team. It was tough to get shots all night. Both teams shot under 40%. That gives you some idea of how difficult good clean shots are going to be to come by in this series." Carlisle on Dallas' zone defense: "My sense is that the zone was okay, was pretty good. I thought it got us through some stretches where our matchups were challenging, to say the least. But, again, you know, during those periods also, we had opportunities to get some open looks, and we didn't knock them down. And that was costly in the scope of the big picture of 48 minutes. That stretch in the late 1st, early 2nd where we're doing okay with the zone and getting some opportunities and not cashing in on them, that hurts. Again, our overall game has got to be better." Carlisle on Miami's defense on Nowitzki: "Well, every team we've played is very aggressive on him. He's a unique player. He's got to be denied the ball virtually everywhere on the floor. Haslem is a guy that has the wherewithal to do that. And they're going to play him aggressively. And we know that. We just got to keep playing our game. We have to keep getting him the ball and giving him opportunities to create. The biggest thing is we have to straighten out the rebounding and we have to do a better job of putting the ball in the basket." Dirk Nowitzki on Terry: "In the 1st half, he got to some areas where he was knocking down shots. In the 2nd half, they didn't really let him get an open look. LeBron was on him some I saw in the 4th quarter to go big on him and I guess to bother his shots. And J.J. [Barea] has got to take his time when he gets in there. I mean, obviously they're collapsing and trying to block his shot. And I thought he was rushing some of his shots in the paint. And we just got to relax and if it's not there, swing the ball to the weak side cause the shot's going to be there. But I thought we rushed some shots there in the paint. And we just got to finish." Nowitzki on his injured finger: "I already had an x-ray. I guess it's not broken, but there's a torn tendon in my finger. If you want more info, you got to talk to my trainer or our doc." Nowitzki: "Well, I think, like I mentioned, they're very good defensively. And what makes them so good, they're so athletic on the wing that even when we swung it sometimes, they're able to cover a lot ground - LeBron and Wade - and still run shooters or contest the shots on the weak side. So you got to give them credit. They're long and active on the perimeter. And when we do get an opportunity to swing the ball, we got to knock the shots down, that's what it comes down to. They're very active in collapsing the paint, so when we do have some looks, we got to knock them down." Nowitzki: "We're a veteran team. You can't get down with a loss. You've got to come back strong on Thursday. I've said it a couple times in this playoff run, if you're the road team, you're happy with a split. So we've got another opportunity on Thursday to get one. Obviously, we don't want to go home down 0-2." Nowitzki on Wade and James: "They have 2 very good closers, 2 of the best in the game." Jason Terry: "Well, we have to make shots. We had enough stops during the ballgame to win it. But offensively, we didn't do a good job of finishing our plays. Definitely something to watch on film, and we'll get back after it in Game 2." Terry: "We had opportunities. We just didn't take advantage of it. Defensively, you hold them to 92 points; but offensively, that was just a disaster for us. So, we'll watch the tape, make our corrections. But definitely look at the opportunities we did have and be mindful of it, knowing those same opportunities will be there in Game 2, and take advantage of it." Terry on if it was Miami's defense: "No. Again, we just didn't take advantage of our opportunities. You have to finish at the basket. You have to make your wide open shots. And we didn't get that accomplished tonight." Terry: "Well, if you look at it, we really didn't play well at all tonight. 1st quarter we scored 16, 3rd quarter 17 - that's not our style of basketball. So give them credit. They did a good job of playing their tempo and they finished at the end when they needed to." Terry: "We gave them a lot of 2nd opportunities too. I don't think they shot the ball as well as they would like tonight. Again, defense was definitely solid, but finishing off possessions - whether loose balls or rebounds - those are situations where we have to come up and win that battle." Terry on James guarding him: "That was something unexpected. Now that we know that's one of their adjustments, we'll take a look at that." Terry on not scoring in the 2nd half: "I don't think I had as many opportunities in the 2nd half as I did in the 1st. Again, I was in transition, looking to be aggressive, and those same opportunities weren't there." Terry on Dallas' poor shooting: "It's definitely uncharacteristic of us. But if we get those opportunities again, we'll take advantage. When the ball isn't going in the basket, it's going to look different. When was the last time we only scored 84 points?" Jason Kidd: "We rely on our bench a lot. They are a big part of our game. Tonight they just didn't shoot the ball well." Kidd on Miami: "They're physical. They're not going to let you get to your spot. They're going to be physical and make sure that you got to go to your 2nd move, and that's what they did tonight." Shawn Marion on if they let the game get away: "Yeah, I think, you know, we were there. I think rebounding killed us tonight. Their bench came in and played well, too. Our bench didn't do too well tonight. Their bench out-played our bench. But for the most part, we think we had chances to get a hold of this game and we let it out of our hands." Marion: "I tell you this, though, we didn't win too many games getting 67 shots. For the most part, a lot of the shots we did get, they were good looks, but they were running off our shots as well. I'll give them credit for that. For the most part, that's not us. I think we're - I don't see that was a team that we were capable of playing on the offensive end. Defense, I think we were pretty solid at times. It wasn't good enough to win the game." Marion: "We have plenty of firepower. That's not the question. The question is going out there and making sure we play our style of game. We got into playing their game. We got into a halfcourt game and they prevailed. You guys see exactly what they focus on and how they guard in certain situations. They made sure they did a very good job out of it and took us out a lot of things we normally do." Marion: "I mean, you hold a team to 38% [FG], and 92 points, for us that's usually a victory. To score 84 points is very rare for us. To get 67 shots as well. Even to shoot 37%. Most times we shoot 37% from the field, the other team is going to shoot lower than that. It was about equal. And we only was able to score 84 points." Marion: "I think we have to force the game. Go out there and play ball. We kind of got complacent and really just tried to play a halfcourt game, which is okay because we've done a good job of doing it, but we have to also play ball. I think we were just calling so many sets, it just kind of took the rhythm out of everything we normally do. When we're out there freelancing and just playing the game and making it up as we go, we're one of the best to do it." Marion: "This is the first game of the series. It's a long way to go. This is a great challenge for both teams. And they got the first win tonight." Tyson Chandler: "They were aggressive tonight on the rebounds. I thought we did a good job defensively of containing them and keeping them under control. But, what we didn't do was secure the rebounds once we got a stop." Chandler: "I wouldn't say it looked like Eastern Conference basketball. It was Finals style basketball. We were in a good place. We got a lot of good shots. Unfortunately, we didn't make enough of them." Chandler: "They made the plays at the end of the game. Like I said, I felt like we did a good job defensively. We've got to clean up some things, do a better job on the glass. They came up with a couple of plays down the stretch that let them open the game up." Chandler on if the games are going to stay low scoring: "No. I think we have to be a lot more aggressive next game. I felt like it took us a while to get going, whether it be Finals jitters or whatever the case may be, it took us a little while. And they were able to capitalize on that. Normally, we come out and strike first and really get moving. We never seemed like we could get into an offensive rhythm." Chandler: "We felt like we had a great chance in this one. We just didn't make any shots." Chandler on the rebounds: "A couple of those were unfortunate bounces. Otherwise, we just have to get more aggressive." J.J. Barea on his 1-8 FG: "That's just bad luck. Sometimes it's going to go in. I felt like I had some open looks. It just didn't go down for me tonight." Brendan Haywood: "The game was won on the glass. 16 offensive rebounds, it's hard to overcome that. We just weren't boxing out the way we're capable of." 2011 Playoffs - NBA Finals: Game 1 Miami Heat 92, Dallas Mavericks 84 at Miami (May 31) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Miami 16 27 22 27 - 92 .357 .458 .388 .731 Dallas 17 27 17 23 - 84 .356 .409 .373 .781 Halftime: Dallas 44-43 3rd Q: Miami 65-61 Technicals: none Refs: Steve Javie, Bill Kennedy, Mike Callahan Attendance: 20,003 (sellout) IL: Dallas - Caron Butler, Dominique Jones, Rodrigue Beaubois Miami - Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire, Dexter Pittman Miami Heat REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK LeBron James 45 9-16 4-5 2-2 24 0-9 5 1 4 1 0 Chris Bosh 39 5-18 0-0 9-12 19 5-9 3 0 3 0 1 Joel Anthony 18 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-3 0 1 2 0 1 Dwyane Wade 38 9-19 2-4 2-5 22 3-10 6 3 1 0 2 Mike Bibby 14 0-4 0-4 0-0 0 0-0 3 0 1 2 0 Mario Chalmers 28 3-8 3-7 3-4 12 1-1 1 2 1 1 0 Udonis Haslem 30 3-8 0-0 1-1 7 1-6 1 2 5 1 0 Juwan Howard 8 0-1 0-0 2-2 2 3-3 0 0 0 0 0 Mike Miller 20 2-5 2-4 0-0 6 2-5 1 1 4 0 0 Totals 48 31-80 11-24 19-26 92 16-46 20 12 21 5 4 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shawn Marion 35 6-12 0-0 4-5 16 3-10 4 3 1 1 1 Dirk Nowitzki 40 7-18 1-2 12-12 27 0-8 2 2 4 0 0 Tyson Chandler 34 3-4 0-0 3-5 9 0-4 2 2 5 1 2 DeShawn Stevenson 14 2-3 2-3 0-0 6 0-2 0 0 2 0 1 Jason Kidd 36 3-8 3-7 0-0 9 0-4 6 3 0 0 1 Jason Terry 33 3-10 3-7 3-4 12 1-1 1 1 2 0 0 Peja Stojakovic 15 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 3 2 0 J.J. Barea 18 1-8 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 3 0 2 1 0 Brendan Haywood 14 0-1 0-0 3-6 3 2-7 0 0 3 1 3 Totals 48 25-67 9-22 25-32 84 6-36 18 11 22 6 8 Go Mavs! patricia ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html