Luol vs. LeBron a key East matchup

DEERFIELD, Ill. - The Chicago Bulls saw it all year from Luol Deng, so what he did against LeBron James and the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals hardly shocked them.

Hit big shots? Hit the boards? Limit the game's most talented player? Check, check and huge check.

The Bulls lead the Heat 1-0 after a 103-82 victory on Sunday, and a big reason for that is Deng. All he did was score 21 points, grab seven rebounds and contribute four steals while neutralizing James in an all-around performance that helped lift Chicago to an impressive victory.

Yes, Derrick Rose was up to his usual MVP tricks, scoring 28 points, but it was Deng providing a big assist whether he was scoring or clamping down on The King.

"That's Luol Deng," Chicago's Carlos Boozer said. "He's an unsung hero for us. He should have been an All-Star this season. It's a normal game for Lu. He plays most of the other teams' best player - or second-best player, whatever the case may be.

He scores for us, hits big shots in the clutch for us, rebounds the ball, is a great leader out there, always inspiring us. Luol needs to get more love."

If he keeps this up, that won't be a problem. Game 2 is Wednesday at the United Center, but the Bulls are certainly not writing off Miami.

"They've lost big games and come out aggressive the next day," Deng said.

It might help if the Heat moved the ball rather than try to beat the Bulls off the dribble, an approach that did not work. They also got hammered on the glass, with Chicago outrebounding them 45-33 and outscoring them 31-8 on second-chance points.

Now, they're in a hole.

"Everybody understands that we are disappointed about last night's game, and we still have an opportunity and sometimes you have to have amnesia going into Game 2," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You can't just let it go, the next 2? days we're going to work to fix some of these challenges that we had last night. But we still have to understand Wednesday is a golden opportunity for us. It doesn't matter. Sometimes there are good performances, bad performances in the playoffs. That's really irrelevant, it really just comes down to a win and a loss."

Their chances would certainly be better if James performed like he is capable.

He scored just 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Whether it was Deng sticking to him or the big men helping out, he simply had no room to operate and was basically a non-factor in the game.

He looked good enough in the early going when he blocked Deng's layup in the opening seconds and fed Dwyane Wade for a fastbreak slam.

"(Deng is) very active and long," said James, who averaged nearly 32 points for Cleveland in the first round against Chicago last year. "I think (coach Tom Thibodeau) has definitely helped him a lot with their defensive schemes. It's not ever one guy that you have to worry about."

• Old-but-rested Mavs await rapidly maturing Thunder: Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan have been through so many playoff series, they would be good sources to discuss the prevailing themes in the Western Conference finals, like how valuable experience is at this stage and whether there's such thing as too much rest between rounds.

Only, Bryant and Duncan aren't around. For just the second time since 1998, neither the Lakers nor the Spurs will represent the West in the NBA finals.

Instead, it'll either be Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and the aging-but-rested Dallas Mavericks, or Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the rapidly maturing Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Mavericks are a collection of 30-somethings bonded by a collective pursuit of their first championship. They have plenty of guys who've come close to a title, including a few holdovers from the 2006 team that interrupted the collection of conference titles piled up by the Spurs and Lakers.

With strong defense and so many scoring options they never know who'll share top billing with Nowitzki, Dallas swept the two-time defending champion Lakers in the second round. The reward was a nine-day wait for Game 1 to night.

Or maybe that was a punishment.

"That's a looong layoff," Mavs center Tyson Chandler said Monday. "Yesterday, the scrimmage got a little chippy, so it was obvious we were ready to play somebody else."

Dallas had to keep waiting because the Thunder had its hands full with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Oklahoma City went the full seven games and then some, playing three overtimes in one game and one extra period in another. While most clubs would've wanted some down time, the Thunder might be the exception. With their age and exuberance, a lone day off between series may have felt like an eternity.

Maybe Mavs owner Mark Cuban will break his recent self-imposed silence and take shots at Oklahoma.

He's lived in Texas long enough to know the enmity between Longhorns and Sooners. It's worth noting he was one of two owners to vote against the SuperSonics moving from Seattle to Oklahoma City.

Then again, the battle of headliners Dirk and Durant could be enough to drive this series.

If not, there are plenty of other good story lines.

- Age, experience vs. youth, inexperience

The contrast in age will be talked about a lot and for good reason.

The top four scorers on the Thunder are 23 or younger. The Mavs only have two guys who are 23 or younger and neither has played this postseason.

Dallas relies on seven players in their 30s. Oklahoma City has only two guys in their 30s and both are backups.

Although no Mavericks have won a title, nearly all of them have deep reservoirs of big-game experience. The Thunder have few guys who've ever been this close to a title, but they have two guys with rings: center Kendrick Perkins (2008, Boston) and his backup, Nazr Mohammed ('05, Spurs).

"We've got to put them in position they haven't been in to be able to use that wisdom," Kidd said. "If you don't, they're just as talented as any team left in the playoffs."

- Rest vs. rust?

Before they were put on hiatus, the Mavs had won a franchise-record six straight postseason games. It remains to be seen whether they can pick up where they left off.

In the shot-clock era, teams that have gone at least nine days between series are 9-9 in Game 1s, and 11-7 in the next round, according to research by STATS LLC.

Among the teams to win Game 1 and the series was the 2004 Pacers, coached by Rick Carlisle, who is now Dallas' coach.

"I like what we've done and I know guys are ready to play," he said.

- Revenge

In February 2009, Chandler was driving to the airport, bound for Oklahoma City to join the Thunder, when his phone rang. He was told to head home. Oklahoma City said he failed a physical and rescinded the deal.

He hasn't forgotten.

In three games against the Thunder this season, he had among his best scoring averages (12.7 points) and easily his most rebounds (15.3) against any team.

"You really don't need any extra incentives," he said, "but I've got some extra ones."

- Matchups

These teams hardly know each other.

Dallas won two of the three regular-season meetings, but that's pretty meaningless. The Mavs had Caron Butler for the first two games and didn't have Nowitzki for 1? of those games. Butler has since gone down for the season and Peja Stojakovic has arrived. The Thunder shored up its interior by adding Perkins.

All eyes will be on how each team covers the other's superstar.

Shawn Marion will start against Durant, the league's two-time reigning scoring champion, and will get help from Nowitzki and others - perhaps even Kidd, who often covered Bryant last round. Carlisle won't expect Kidd to stay with the speedy Westbrook.

"We've got to build a wall on him," Chandler said. "It's not about one guy stopping him. It's about our team slowing him down."

Oklahoma City will start Serge Ibaka against Nowitzki, with Perkins, Mohammed, Durant, Nick Collison and James Harden among those who also may take turns against the big German.

"We have our work cut out for us," Durant said, "but it should be fun."