He also knew that wouldn't matter in the playoffs.
And Game 1 -- which seemed more like Round 1 -- of what's already an emotionally charged series went to Wade and the Miami Heat.
Wade scored 38 points on 14-of-21 shooting, James Jones set a Miami postseason record with 25 points off the bench, and the Heat beat the Celtics 99-90 on Sunday to open their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
"We're going to have to fight for every inch, every game we get," Wade said. "Right now, we won Game 1. We're supposed to. We'll go back and focus on winning Game 2. We're at home, we have home-court advantage. They're just trying to come in and steal one like they've done in the past. So it's our job to come out with the same mentality in the next one."
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LeBron James finished with 22 points, six rebounds and five assists for Miami, which led by as many as 19 before a fiery finish that saw plenty of players jawing at each other -- more than that in some cases. Paul Pierce was ejected with 7 minutes left, after picking up two technicals in skirmishes with Wade and Jones within a span of 59 seconds.
Ray Allen scored 25 points for Boston, which lost for the first time in five games this postseason. Pierce scored 19 and Delonte West finished with 10 for the Celtics, while Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett were held to a combined 14 points on 6-for-19 shooting.
"There's so many things we need to do to get better," Allen said. "I think everybody in that locker room knows that, just from a small conversation we just had."
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