The Miami HEAT took Game 1 away from the Dallas Mavericks thanks to large contributions from LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Big Three carried Miami and combined for 65 points, 28 rebounds and 14 assists. In fact, they were the only HEAT starters to score, which is the first time since 1975 that a team has won an NBA Finals game with two starters going scoreless. Because Mike Bibby and Joel Anthony were struggling, Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers played the majority of minutes.

The Mavericks didn’t get much help from their bench, which was one of their keys to this series. Dirk Nowitzki finished with 27 points and 8 rebounds, but he tore a tendon in his left middle finger. He says it won’t affect him, but he’ll have to play the remainder of the series in a splint.

Game 1 was rather anticlimactic, but both teams will try to make adjustments going into Thursday’s contest. Here are what the match ups look like going into Game 2.

Point Guard: Mario Chalmers vs. Jason Kidd

Mike Bibby couldn’t get anything going last night, finishing scoreless on 0-4 shooting. Because of his struggles, Mario Chalmers came into the game and was able to contribute 12 points. After the game in the locker room Bibby was frustrated with himself and we’ll see if Miami will adjust the starting lineup today after practice. Chalmers certainly looked better last night, but Erik Spoelstra might not want to make a switch at this point in the season, especially since Bibby is the more experienced veteran. Expect Chalmers to continue playing a larger role and being more of a factor than Bibby in Game 2, but possibly off of the bench.

Kidd needs to step up if the Mavericks want to win this series. He needs to take advantage of Miami’s point guards and his nine points, six assists, and three turnovers won’t get it done. He’s the best floor general in this series and he needs to make sure everyone knows it. He struggled from the floor in Game 1, shooting 3-8 from the field, and he was hesitant on open looks. Dallas needs more out of Kidd on Thursday, especially if Nowitzki is limited by his injury.

Advantage: Dallas

Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade vs. DeShawn Stevenson

Wade struggled in the early going of Game, but picked it up in the second half to finish with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. He seemed uncomfortable early and he had to adjust to Dallas’ defense, which threw a revolving door of defenders at him and James. Even when his shot wasn’t falling, he was able to help on the defensive end.

Stevenson played his role well. He played excellent defense and was able to close out on Miami’s shooters. His contributions didn’t necessarily show up in the box score, but he did make an impact for Dallas. The Mavericks will need him to continue playing solid defense on Wade if they want to have a chance in this series.

Advantage: Miami

Small Forward: LeBron James vs. Shawn Marion

This was the best individual match-up, but James ran away with it after contributing 24 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. On some shots Marion had a hand right in James’ face, but it didn’t matter. This was the first Finals victory of James’ career and he looked good. After Game 1, he stressed this wasn’t Miami’s best effort and expects to do more damage in Game 2.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Marion finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He did a good job cutting to the basket and late in the game Dallas tried to take advantage of Marion’s match up with Mike Miller on multiple occasions. If Miami continues to use Miller at the end of the games, expect Marion to see the ball in the post quite a bit. He’s developed a great repertoire of moves with his back to the basket and he may be able to put them on display in Game 2 if Miller is guarding him.

Advantage: Miami

Power Forward: Chris Bosh vs. Dirk Nowitzki

When Wade and James couldn’t get going in the early stages of Game 1, Bosh stepped up and carried Miami. He scored early and often, which then opened things up for his teammates. Prior to Game 1, Jason Terry said Dallas’ key to the series was “not allowing Bosh to have any impact on the series,” but they weren’t able to do that on Tuesday. He finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. Haslem spent the majority of time guarding Nowitzki, but when Bosh was guarding him, he held his ground.

Nowitzki kept Dallas in the game. His 27 points led all scorers, but it was his left middle finger that had everybody talking after the game. Immediately after the buzzer sounded, Nowitzki was brought to the X-ray room because he couldn’t bend his finger. While the X-rays were negative, he was diagnosed with a torn tendon which will require a splint. He downplayed the injury and James said he didn’t expect Nowitzki to be affected since it’s not on his shooting hand. Only time will tell how the finger will affect Nowitzki’s game, but the Mavericks will need another solid effort from him if they want to keep up with Miami’s potent attack.

Advantage: Dallas

Center: Udonis Haslem vs. Tyson Chandler

Prior to Game 1, Rick Carlisle told reporters he believed Haslem was going to get the start. While he was wrong, Haslem did end up playing the bulk of the minutes after Joel Anthony struggled. Haslem took Anthony’s spot, but spent much of the evening matched up with Nowitzki. He played nearly 30 minutes and was tired after the game, but could eventually move into the starting lineup at some point during this series. Haslem finished Game 1 with seven points and six rebounds.

Outside of alley-oops, Chandler wasn’t able to get going in the paint. He only had nine points and four rebounds on Tuesday, and Dallas will need more out of him if they want to win this series. During the regular season, he averaged a double-double against Miami. With Nowitzki likely limited on the defensive end and on the glass because of his finger, Chandler will need to step even more and do the dirty work necessary to win.

Advantage: Push

Bench: Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, James Jones, and Mario Chalmers vs. Jason Terry, J.J. Barea, Peja Stojakovic and Brendan Haywood

Entering this series, there was so much talk about how Dallas had more depth than Miami. They were expected to really pose a problem for the HEAT, but that wasn’t the case in Game 1. In fact, Miami outscored Dallas’ bench 27-17 and received such large contributions from players like Haslem and Chalmers that they have already appeared in this preview. Even Juwan Howard got into the mix, scoring the first Finals points of his career.

The Mavericks, on the other hand, need more from their bench. Barea was hyped up entering the series and then only contributed two points on 1-8 shooting. Stojakovic didn’t score on 0-3 shooting. Terry was the lone contributor with 12 points, but even he struggled at times and had to take 10 shots to reach that total. Dallas’ bench should bring a better effort in Game 2, especially when you consider that most of their misses were open looks. Expect them to rally and make Thursday’s contest more interesting. With that said, Miami has to get the advantage after Game 1.

Advantage: Miami

Game 2 from the American Airlines Arena in Miami begins Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.