LeBron scores 24 to lead Heat over Dallas in Game 1 of finals

By Ira Winderman

Sun Sentinel

MIAMI

After five grueling games against the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals, the Miami Heat thought they were done with ground-and-pound basketball.

Instead, these NBA Finals, even against the previously high-scoring Dallas Mavericks, well could prove to be more of the same.

That certainly was the case Tuesday night, when the lowest-scoring first quarter in a Finals opening game in the shot-clock era yielded a grueling 92-84 Heat victory.

But with Dwyane Wade rekindling memories of his effort against the Mavericks in the 2006 Finals that gave the Heat the franchise’s lone NBA title, and with LeBron James again working as the perfect complement, the Heat moved to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

What started with Dallas closing the opening period with a 17-16 lead ended with the Heat at 38.8 percent from the field and the Mavericks at 37.3 percent, in a bruising, physical affair.

Through it all, the Heat gained the initial advantage in a series that continues Thursday before shifting to Dallas for the middle three games of the series.

Little came easy in this one for extended stretches, not for Wade in the first half, not for Heat forward Chris Bosh for most of the night, and not for Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki to the degree he thrived in the Western Conference finals.

Wade finished at 9 of 19 from the field for 22 points. Bosh — whose best work came on the boards, with his nine rebounds helping the Heat to a 46-36 edge — shot 5 of 18. And Nowitzki, while closing with 27 points, shot 7 of 18.