Dallas – The buildup entering the NBA Finals focused on Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, Mark Cuban, Shaquille O’Neal, Avery Johnson and Pat Riley. But once the Finals began Thursday night between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat, Jason Terry stepped through all the hype.
Terry scored 32 points to lead the Mavericks to a 90-80 victory in Game 1 on Thursday night at American Airlines Center. He made 13-of-18 shots, including four 3-pointers, and had three steals. Game 2 in the first Finals appearance for both teams is here Sunday.
“I just wanted to come back and be aggressive,” Terry said. “There was no point where I ever looked up at the scoreboard. I’m just continuing to take shots. Fortunately for me, they were falling tonight, thank God.”
Terry averaged 17.8 points in the postseason before the Finals, but his scoring outburst was a surprise.
Terry, who scored 20 points in the first half, reached 30 points for just the fourth time in 30 postseason games with Dallas. The six-year veteran had made only four 3-pointers in the previous five playoff games.
Terry’s performance came at a good time for the Mavericks, because Nowitzki scored just 16 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. Dallas’ Josh Howard was limited to 10 points and made only 3-of-14 attempts.
“We saw the real Jason Terry, and we need this Jason Terry,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. “This Jason Terry makes us a pretty special basketball team because on a night like this when Josh and Dirk go 7-for-28, you need to get some offense from somewhere. Josh and Dirk normally don’t have nights like this.”
The Heat made 7-of-19 free throws, including 1-for-9 from O’Neal (17 points, seven rebounds). Miami sank 5-of-20 3-point attempts and scored only 12 points in the fourth quarter. Wade scored a team-high 28 points.
Said Wade: “You are always looking forward to Sunday, after the first game of the Finals is out of the way, all the jitters, all the excitement.
“Playing the first game is out of the way. And now we can calm down and concentrate on what we’ve got to do to become a better team and try to get the next game.”
Terry made 9-of-11 shots, including two 3-pointers, in the first half. But in the third quarter, he didn’t take a shot in six scoreless minutes and sat out the final 5:28. Despite Terry going cold, the Mavericks entered the fourth quarter holding a 70-68 lead.
“Coach took me out a little early in the third,” Terry said. “I just went to the bench and I wanted to stay focused.”
Terry made up for lost time by opening the fourth with a jumper 17 seconds in. He then made three consecutive shots, including two 3-pointers, to push Dallas ahead 82-72 with 7:55 remaining.
But Terry’s hot streak ended badly with a missed dunk that resulted in an O’Neal dunk on the other end with 7:30 left.
“I just need to stay focused, shake it off quick,” Terry said about the missed slam. “I kind of grabbed my knee, thinking it was my knee that caught or something. But (teammate Darrell Armstrong) just shook his head at me and said that wasn’t the case.”
The Heat went on a 7-0 run after Terry’s miscue to get within 82-79 after Wade’s free throw with 4:22 left. But the Heat cooled off the rest of the contest, scoring only one point, leaving Terry to survive as the hero.
“It’s just another game,” Terry said. “Rims are still 10 feet, even though it didn’t seem like that on my layup. We’ve just got to go out there, stay focused and execute the game plan and see what happens.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
