NBA Finals 2011: Miami Heat's Big 3 Play Good Defense, Take Game 1

Defense has been a huge reason why the Miami Heat have been able to make it this far. They did a good job of containing Derrick Rose, the Big Three plus one of Boston and the 76ers in the first round.

They have started on Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs.

By limiting Dallas to just 84 points, Miami took Game 1 of the NBA Finals 92-84 and a 1-0 series lead. Dwyane Wade scored 22, LeBron James scored 24 and Chris Bosh scored 19.

Wade made huge plays down the stretch, pulling up and knocking down jumpers when he got enough space. Dallas had trouble pressuring the Heat, and Miami made them pay.

Dallas was on top in the third quarter, but LeBron and the Heat stole it when D-Wade started making huge plays. Miami was dominating down the stretch, they added the crowd to the game, and Game 1 belonged to Miami.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 for Dallas, but he missed many shots that he normally makes or should have made. Nowitzki went 7-for-18 from the field and 12-for-12 from the free-throw line, but he couldn't make enough big shots.

Amazingly, Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade had the same number of assists (6), but Wade outplayed Kidd by a lot. Wade helped Miami rally from an eight-point third-quarter deficit with two huge baskets and he made two big jumpers and a three to ice the game.

Jason Terry was a big reason Dallas led at halftime, but by failing to score in the second half, Miami got an advantage. Just like Dallas needed him against Los Angeles, they will need him now.

Bosh, James and Wade scored 65 of the Heat's 92 points, 71 percent of the team's points. Mario Chalmers drained three shots from downtown and finished with 12 and the rest of the bench did just enough for Miami to prevail.

Miami got many open shots (thanks to ball movement), and they drained 11 three-pointers, a huge reason Miami came out on top. The Mavericks need to pressure more on defense or the series will be over in four.

Game 2 is in Miami on Thursday.