Monta Ellis clearly has a flair for the dramatic. Besides jaw dropping spin moves in traffic that the closest thing to it in real life would be car chase scenes in movies where people are switching four lanes with little to no crashing. The Miami Heat’s James Jones nailed a three-pointer with 7 seconds left in the first and Monta Ellis returned the favor later with a half court shot that sent both teams to the benches with the Warriors up 8.
I wouldn’t read too much into the Warriors lead as the last time the teams met, Lebron James spent the first half passively learning the Warriors strengths and weaknesses. In the second half, the Lebron seemed to enforce his dominance and the Warriors respected the King’s wishes immediately.
Dorell Wright led the Warriors with 14 points on 6-7 shooting to open the first. Wright nailed several three point shots. Wright isn’t necessarily showing much different offense but he hasn’t taken any bad shots, which is a plus.
Another problematic stat to pay attention to? The Warriors did not attempt any free throws in the first quarter. The Heat made 5-5. The Warriors will need to get to the line and get some of these Heat in foul trouble if they wish to stay in this.