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.
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