Jason Terry grabbed the spotlight from the three big stars in this championship series, scoring a playoff-high 32 points and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Miami Heat 90-80 on Thursday.
The Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki sputtered and struggled in his first NBA finals game, while a sniffling Dwyane Wade and a brick-laying Shaquille O'Neal couldn't finish a late run for the Heat.
Though Terry was the Mavericks' savior, scoring 20 points in the first half and 12 in the fourth quarter, he missed a fourth-quarter layup that kick-started Miami's late run.
The Mavericks went nearly seven minutes between fourth-quarter field goals before Jerry Stackhouse clinched it on a wobbling jumper with 1:02 to play. Dallas held the Heat to two free throws over the final 5:13, escaping with a sloppy but satisfying victory -- and just 16 points from Nowitzki, their superstar.
"I tried to get the big fellow involved and spread it around, but I was there when they needed me," Terry said. "It just means we got one win. There's another level for us to go defensively. We just have to work hard and focus."
Wade finished with 28 points for the Heat, but managed just three in the fourth quarter while feeling the effects of the sinus infection that's bugged him for a week. O'Neal had 17 points and seven rebounds -- and the three-time champion went 1-for-9 at the free throw line, leading Miami's abysmal 7-for-19 performance.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Sunday night in Dallas, with Game 3 in Miami on Tuesday.
Terry was the ostensible replacement for Steve Nash after the point guard left Dallas for a bigger contract in Phoenix -- and proceeded to win consecutive MVP awards. Though the fans love Terry's energy and all-around game, he was inconsistent in three opening rounds highlighted by a gritty performance in a decisive Game 7 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Terry was the first Dallas player other than Nowitzki to lead the club in scoring since Game 4 of the second round against the Spurs, when Terry had 32.
"We didn't win 60 games because of me," Nowitzki said. "We didn't get here because of me. ... We swing the ball to the open guy, and he was hot today."
After Terry hit consecutive 3-pointers, the Mavs had a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. But Terry inexplicably missed that open fast-break layup -- and the Heat scored the next seven points while holding Dallas scoreless for 4 1/2 minutes.
The creeping unease in Dallas didn't go away until Wade and Antoine Walker missed big fourth-quarter shots. Though most of the game was played at Miami's favored tempo, the Heat struggled for consistent offense before going 5-for-20 from the field in the fourth quarter.
These are the first NBA finals since 1971 between two first-timers, although there are champions on both benches. O'Neal and Miami coach Pat Riley have seven rings between them, and Dallas coach Avery Johnson won it all as a player with the 1999 Spurs.
In search of their first title, the Mavericks took the opener and the historic 73 percent success rate of the winner in Game 1.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was