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(AP) --  LeBron James and Dwyane Wade joked often, smiled easily, answered thoughtfully.

A few minutes later, Dirk Nowitzki bounded up to a podium and offered a big "How we doin!" to the assembled media.

You'd never know only one of them is a "good guy."

Less than a year after solidifying their place as the NBA's villains with their high-profile partnership last summer,

James, Wade and the Miami Heat are in the NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks and Nowitzki.

Game 1 is Tuesday night in the arena where the Heat celebrated like champions last July.

James says the Heat "got a lot of flack this year, mostly because of myself," but insists coming to Miami was the best way to realize his vision of winning a championship.

You can watch the NBA finals on KTVO TV starting at 8 pm.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)