Season opens in Dallas with Miami Heat win over Mavericks

The Miami Heat routed the Mavericks in the NBA finals rematch, spoiling the celebration anticipated in Dallas.

While the Mavericks were on the court cheering on their winning the championship last season over the Heat, with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in the latter's lineup, the Heat had their own gathering in another section of the building.

They insisted it was not because they did not want to see the ceremony; instead, they were reportedly getting themselves ready to show the crowds why they deserved to win this season.

Halfway through the Quarter 3, Miami was already 35 points ahead, spurred on by scoring waves series brought about by Wade and James. The lead peaked when James flew to the rim and made an alley-oop pass to Wade, who made a dunk instead. That rendered the game be essentially over, but the Mavs lifted up in a late rally, ending with a final score that looked relatively close, at 105-94.

James described the Heat as a focused team that had an excellent training camp. He added that they tried to play aggressive, as the team was coming in with the same perspective they had at practice, focusing on using their speed and playing with a good focus mentally.

By the end of the game, James had made 37 points, six assists, and 10 rebounds, while Wade also made six assists, along with 26 points and eight rebounds. At least 30 points were scored by Miami in every one of the first three quarters.

Wade commented that whether or not the Mavs had a celebration, their team were focused on their game plan and they managed to implement it with a good outcome.

Possibly, the pregame festivals caused the Mavs to come into the game emotionally drained, as, as soon as after the first quarter, they were already down by 15; by halftime, the Heat was leading by 21 points. Early in the third quarter, another 14 points were easily gained consecutively.

Of course, while it was possible that the Mavs were having a hangover emotionally, more likely the loss had to do with the slow way that they got a new rotation into action. Since last season, the Mavs had lost Tyson Chandler as their center and J.J. Barea as their backup point guard, and had Vince Carter as an added guard, along with the additions of Lamar Odom and Delonte West.

Rick Carlisle, coach to the Mavericks, said that they had to form a new identity with the team, as it was essentially a different team right from the outset. He admitted that it would take much work and honesty, and it would definitely not be an easy task.

Carter made the first two shots for Dallas, one of which was from 18 feet away and the other a layup, but both did not go in. The second half started with West in Carter's place, and ended with 10 points for Dallas, five by Carter, along with three assists and two rebounds in a span of 21 minutes.