Game 1 - Threes and D

The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks at home in Game One of the 2011 Finals, 92-84. Miami surprisingly made more three-pointers than Dallas and shot a better percentage from beyond the arc. Miami made 11-24, while Dallas shot only 9-22. Starting point guard Mike Bibby missed a few early open threes. He ended up 0-4 from the three-point range. But his backup, Mario Chalmers, found the range, going 3-7 and piling up 12 unexpected points.

LeBron James was the star of the contest. He finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. He shot 9-16 from the field including his first four threes. His defense was stellar. But he ad two stunning dunks in the fourth. On one, James drove down the middle of the lane and fire down a rim-shaking slam. The second one occurred after the game was decided, but Wade's alley oop to LeBron in the closing seconds was memorable. Chris Bosh shot poorly, but tallied 19 points.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points, but was at least contained, mostly by Udonis Haslem. Reserve scoring sensation Jason terry shot only 3-10 and another player who usually provides punch off the bench, J.J. Barea missed seven of his eight field goal attempts.

Both team struggled to score all game. Miami only shot 38.8% from the field while Dallas shot only 37.3%. The defense was championship-worthy. Dallas was up 44-43 at halftime. The two teams traded the lead until Miami pulled ahead for the final time late in the third. Miami has now beaten Dallas in five consecutive games in the NBA Finals.