Dirk Nowitzki kept the Mavericks afloat early with 16

Dirk Nowitzki kept the Mavericks afloat early with 16 first-half points on 8-of-10 shooting. He closed with 25, at 9 of 19 from the field. But with Finals foils Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea having moved on in offseason free agency, Dallas simply lacked the pop they produced in winning the final three games of last season's Finals.
Like so many recent Heat opponents, the Mavericks came out firing from beyond the 3-point line.
The Mavericks shot 5 of 11 on 3-pointers in the opening period, which tied their previous high in attempts for any period this season and was their high for a first quarter.

Hamlin started 13th at PIR and briefly led a couple of times

Trying to get away from the constant race chatter around the Charlotte, N.C., area, Hamlin rented a house in Paradise Valley for seven weeks during the offseason. He came back strong to start this season, finishing fourth at the Daytona 500 with new crew chief Darian Grubb after qualifying 31st.
Hamlin started 13th at PIR and briefly led a couple of times before beating Kevin Harvick off the line after a caution with 59 laps left. Harvick, NASCAR's best finisher, put a scare into him toward the end, but ran out of gas on the final lap.
Hamlin was concerned about gas as well, but had just enough for a celebratory burnout after his 18th career win and his first lead in the points since dejectedly leaving Phoenix in 2010.