Dallas 90, Miami 80 (Mavs lead series, 1-0)
In my preview of the Finals, I mentioned the Dwayne Wade vs. Jason Terry matchup as one of the keys to the series. Terry held up his end in Game 1, scoring 32 points on 13-18 shooting. Wade scored 28, but the Heat aren’t going to win very many games if they can’t contain Terry. Miami came out on fire, scoring 31 points in the first quarter to take an eight point lead into the second period. But thanks to some tough Dallas defense as well as some inaccurate shooting from long range, Miami only managed 49 points in the final three quarters, leaving the door wide open for the Mavs to seize the victory. Dirk Nowitzki had a quiet game, scoring 16 on 4-14 shooting. Udonis Haslem actually did a pretty good job on the big German, but Nowitzki was surprisingly passive for most of the game. Expect him to be more agressive in Game 2. Shaquille O’Neal scored 17 on 8-11 shooting, but the double-teams came early and often, forcing Shaq to give the ball up for most of the game. The Mavs have to feel pretty good about the victory – they won despite poor offensive performances from everyone except Terry, leading me to believe that Miami is going to have a tough time in this series. But it’s all about adjustments, and you know that Pat Riley still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Game 2 is on Sunday at 9 PM ET on ABC.