"These two teams are still feeling each other out, and they're already playing this brilliantly?" Ma Fu marveled.
The Heat and Lakers belonged to the Eastern and Western Conferences respectively, and they had only faced each other twice during the regular season.
Although both sides had treated the other as a potential Finals opponent and made plenty of preparations, they were still somewhat cautious when they actually faced off.
It was clear that both teams were gradually probing and adjusting.
The Heat were testing how much the Lakers' defense could affect O'Neal.
The Lakers were testing whether the Heat's newcomers could withstand Finals-level pressure.
The facts proved that neither side had any obvious weaknesses.
At the end of the first half, the Lakers held a five-point lead, 59-54, over the Heat, relying only on home-court advantage and an excellent performance from their bench.
A five-point gap was barely even a gap for teams of this caliber.
"In the second half, the stars are going to start exerting themselves," Barkley predicted.
The players had all played as a team in the first half. No one had been isolated outside the system; everyone had followed the team's rhythm.
Kobe had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Nash had 8 points and 5 assists.
O'Neal had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 turnovers.
Wade had 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 turnovers.
Correspondingly, both teams were shooting over 50 percent.
Many players had stepped up to score.
This was the first game, and the coaches needed to see which players were in better form during this series so they could give them more playing time in the games to come.
But the second half was different.
Historically, teams that won Finals Game 1 had a 70