"I felt OK. I was able to get my legs back," Wade said. "This will be a good time to rest, and I should be OK for Sunday. ... J.T. hit all the big shots. He looked like a great player. We have to do a better job of knowing his strengths and making him take tougher shots."

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 Johnson won it all as a player with the 1999 Spurs.

In search of their first championship banner for owner Mark Cuban, the Mavericks took the opener and the historic 73 percent success rate of the winner in Game 1.

"It isn't whether or not a guy or two guys score. It's a fight," Riley said. "This is what it's about. (It's) competitive, and it's going to be ugly and sloppy at times."

The long-suffering Mavs fans packed into this beautiful arena didn't mind: They hugged each other spontaneously even before the opening tip, finally enjoying a finals after 26 often-miserable seasons in the league.

Television ratings have been way up during the most exciting, unpredictable playoff season in recent memory ¡ª and the finals opener lived up to the first three rounds, even if wasn't quite as dramatic as the best games of the spring.

Miami jumped to an early 11-point lead with 70 percent shooting and 13 first-quarter points from Wade. Dallas calmly recovered, holding the Heat scoreless in the final 3:59 of the first half and taking the lead on Nowitzki's second field goal, a leaning jumper at the halftime buzzer.

The Heat drew actual first blood when Stackhouse got a bloody cut on his nose from a collision with O'Neal in the second quarter. Stackhouse made one of his two free throws before heading to the locker room.

Notes:@ NBA commissioner David Stern chatted with Cuban in the locker room while the owner worked out on a stair-climbing machine. Perhaps that anticipated trophy presentation won't be as awkward as many expect. ... Terrell Owens immediately started his own way of making friends in a new city: The Cowboys WR showed up in an O'Neal jersey, but a Mavericks hat. Saints RB Reggie Bush also showed up ¡ª in a Nowitzki jersey. ... With third-string C D.J. Mbenga serving his suspension, the Mavs didn't have an inactive player.