With many players from the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks appearing in their first NBA finals, Game 1 featured some sloppy play from both teams. Now, each club hopes the jitters are behind them as the series resumes in Dallas after a two-day break.
On Thursday, Dirk Nowitzki had just 16 points for the Mavs while Heat stars Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal combined for 45 points. Dallas, though, won 90-80 behind Jason Terry's 32 points to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Wade had 28 points, six rebounds and six assists, but went 6-for-10 from the free-throw line and committed five of Miami's 15 turnovers. O'Neal, meanwhile, hit just one of his nine attempts from the line while finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
``I know that if I want my team to win a championship, I have to step up to the line and hit them,' O'Neal said. ``And I will. I was just thinking about it a little too much. We still had a lot of opportunities to win the game, and on Sunday, look for me to shoot a little bit better.'
Terry probably can't shoot much better than he did in Game 1. The seventh-year guard went 13-for-18 from the field, including 4-for-7 from 3-point range, and hit both free-throw attempts to lead the Mavs.
Terry said playing in the finals didn't affect him at all.
``It's just another game,' he said. ``The rims are still 10 feet (high).'
Nowitzki, who shot 4-for-14 Thursday, felt differently.
``I thought we were a little frozen up,' he said. ``It's a big stage. Nobody has really been here before besides (coach) Avery (Johnson). ... We weren't making shots. We weren't making good plays, not swinging the ball.'
Johnson, the NBA coach of the year, won a title while playing with San Antonio in 1999.
``I think they've gotten it out of their system now,' Johnson said. ``We had some jitters ... and they know we didn't play a perfect game. We obviously have a lot of room for improvement. We didn't meet our goals offensively and defensively.'
Johnson's counterpart, Heat coach Pat Riley, said his team should be anxious to get back on the court after its performance in Game 1.
``They should be disgusted,' Riley said Friday. ``Disgusted and frustrated.'
Wade admitted to being tired in the opener after battling flu-like symptoms and a sinus infection for a week leading up to this series, but said that was no excuse for the way the Heat played.
``Defensively was not there mentally or physically for this ballclub,' Wade said. ``We come out, and - if I know this team - we will respond to the challenge, come out and be better defensively and give ourselves a chance to win in Game 2.'
O'Neal, meanwhile, will probably get the ball more in Game 2 after taking just 11 shots Thursday.
``The burden is always going to be on me and I've accepted that ever since 1992,' O'Neal said. ``Whenever we don't play well, I take a lot of it on my shoulders, anyway. The key is not to have two games like that in a row. So I'll be hard on myself these next two days. And then hopefully on Sunday, I could play a little bit better.'
Nowitzki will also be looking to play better after being held under 20 points in Game 1 for just the second time this postseason.
``They made me put ball on floor and got ball out of my hands,' Nowitzki said. ``But we played well defensively and Jason made shots and carried us all game. ... We got the first one out of the way. Now we can make some adjustments, look at some film.'
The series shifts to Miami for Game 3 on Tuesday.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Heat - 2nd seed, Eastern Conference; beat Chicago Bulls 4-2, first round; beat New Jersey Nets 4-1, semifinals; beat Detroit Pistons 4-2, finals. Mavericks - 4th seed, Western Conference; beat Memphis Grizzlies 4-0, first round; beat San Antonio Spurs 4-3, semifinals; beat Phoenix Suns 4-2, finals.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Heat - F Antoine Walker, F Udonis Haslem, C O'Neal, G Jason Williams, G Wade. Mavericks - F Josh Howard, F Nowitzki, C DeSagana Diop, G Devin Harris, G Terry.
PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Heat - Wade, 26.3 ppg and 6.4 apg; O'Neal, 9.5 rpg. Mavericks - Nowitzki, 27.7 ppg and 11.8 rpg; Terry, 3.7 apg.
The first game of the NBA Finals is in the books and even though the Mavericks own a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven battle, it’s safe to say that neither team was deserving of the opening victory.
Dallas came out of the gates flat in Game 1 on Thursday, trailing Miami 31-23 after the first quarter, but outscored the Heat by 18 points (67-49) for the rest of the game en route to the win. Pat Riley’s team shot over 70 percent in the first 12 minutes before watching his squad go cold and end up with 43 percent for the game.
The Mavericks were a tad better from the field, hitting 44 percent from the floor. Dallas did hit 20-of-26 (77%) free throws, while the Heat’s weakness from the stripe continued. Miami was a dreadful 37 percent (7-of-19), including an embarrassing 1-of-9 effort from center Shaquille O’Neal.
Thursday’s triumph for Dallas was its fifth in a row against Miami. To add salt to the wounds, the Mavericks are also a perfect 5-0 against the spread during this current winning streak against the Heat.
The last time the Heat topped the Mavericks was in the 2004 season and the 119-118 overtime victory proved to be a very tight game. At the time, Dallas did have two-time league Most Valuable Player Steve Nash, plus current Miami forward Antoine Walker.
“Some things never change” says the old adage, watching Walker go 1-of-9 for Dallas before finishing with three points in a losing effort. Dwayne Wade and Udonis Haslem are the only two current Miami players to have braggin’ rights against Dallas during their tenure in South Beach.
Sportsbook.com posted propositions on the number of free throws O’Neal would convert in Game 1. “We opened the number at 3 ½ (-190) and a lot of people expected the All Star to easily hit at least four from the stripe, “says oddsmaker Jeremy Ryan of Sportsbook.com.
It’s no surprise that Miami has struggled from the line in the postseason, considering it was the second worst shooting team in the league during the regular season at 70 percent. O’Neal certainly brings that number down with a 46.7 percent clip, while Jason Williams is the only starter that is considered solid at 86.7 percent.
Ryan added, “We decided to put up the prop on O’Neal again for Game 2 and the magic number is set once again at 3 ½ free throws made.”
Another popular prop, Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki’s total points, also went to the house in Game 1. Nowitzki had his second worse game of the playoffs, hitting 28 percent of his shots for 16 points. A lot of the credit should go to Miami’s Udonis Haslem defense, but it appears the public doesn’t expect poor back-to-back performances from the German standout.
Nowitzki’s point total for Game 2 is set at 27 ½ points, while other risky gamblers can take a shot on Dirk’s free throws. Will he miss a free throw in Sunday’s contest? Yes backers have to lay minus-155 (Bet $155 to win $100), while perfect predictors can catch a plus-125 (Bet $100 to win $125) price. Another Maverick that played poorly was forward Josh Howard. The former ACC Player of the Year had just 10 points on a dreadful 3-of-14 effort from the field.
The best player on the court in Game 1 was Dallas point guard Jason Terry, who hit 72 percent of his shots for a game-high 32 points. “Terry cashed in props for the players in the opener and is getting serious action again for his total points and rebounds (22 ½) for the second game, “says Ryan.
Dallas closed as a five-point favorite in Game 1 and opened as a 4 ½-point ‘chalk’ in Sunday’s game. The number seems fair, considering the public will expect the Zig-Zag trend to hit with a Heat victory in Game 2.
The total is the number to watch in this series. The combined 170 points in Thursday’s contest easily went ‘under’ the closing total of 193. Oddsmakers have since dropped the number to 188 and it could get lower as the series progresses.
Miami has seen the ‘under’ cash in seven straight contests, while Dallas has gone ‘under’ in five of its last six games. Is it good defense or inconsistent offense? Probably a combination of both, but if both teams continue to settle for outside jumpers rather than getting to the rim, we could see the ‘over/under’ be listed as low as 180 in this series.
The Heat have not suffered back-to-back losses in the playoffs since dropping Game 3 and 4 to Chicago in the first round. Meanwhile, Dallas owns a 7-2 straight up record at American Airlines Center in the postseason, which is solid yet not invincible.
Game 3 is slated for Tuesday from American Airlines Arena in Miami.
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