Heat Win Game 1

Game 1 of the NBA Finals went to the Miami Heat Tuesday night, as they defeated the Dallas Mavericks 92-84 at American Airlines Arena in South Beach. LeBron James (24 Pts, 9 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl) was spectacular, earning his first ever NBA Finals victory. Here is more from a game recap from the AP and espn.com.

LeBron James scored 24 points for his first win in five Finals-game appearances, Dwyane Wade added 22 points and 10 rebounds and the Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks 92-84 in Game 1 of the title series Tuesday night. The Heat trailed by eight points early in the third quarter before pulling away.

Chris Bosh scored 19 points and Mario Chalmers added 12 for Miami, which hosts Game 2 on Thursday night.

espn.com

Dirk Nowitzki finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists, but didn't get much help on the offensive end. Jason Terry had 12 point at halftime, when the Mavericks had a 1 point lead. He never scored again. JJ Barea, who had terrific offensive production in the first 3 rounds of the playoffs, was 1-8 from the field for 2 points. Both players will have to produce more scoring if the Mavs are going to make this a competitive series. Miami's defense was solid all night, but Barea and Terry missed many open looks.

"We had opportunities, we just didn't take advantage of it," said Jason Terry after the loss. "You have to make your wide open shots, and we didn't get that accomplished tonight."

The Heat bench outscored the Mavs reserves 27-15. Miami also had 16 offensive rebounds which led to 15 second chance points. These are two statistical categories that won't be analyzed as much as the superstars (James, Wade, Nowitzki) play, but was just as vital in determining the winner of Game 1.

Game 1 will be overanalyzed because it's the NBA Finals. Miami outplayed Dallas in Game 1. Simple as that. The Mavericks shot 37%. They can shoot better. The problem for Dallas is that Miami can say the same thing. The Heat shot 39%. They can shoot better. And, they're up 1-0.