Anthony Davis credited Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for helping the Los Angeles Lakers recover from a slow start against the Miami Heat.

Davis (34 points) and LeBron James (25 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists) saw the Lakers thrash the Heat 116-98 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday.

But Miami led 25-12 in the first quarter before Caldwell-Pope hit back-to-back three-pointers for the Lakers, starting a 19-3 run.

Davis said those shots were huge for the Lakers, who are eyeing a first title since 2010.

"We know they're a great team, they're here for a reason. This team plays hard and plays scrappy and they've got a lot of guys who can make plays for them," he told ESPN.

"They came out very hot, we came out slow, KCP saved us. He hit them two big threes in the first quarter and got us going and we kind of picked it up on both ends of the floor so we can't come out like that in Game 2.

"This is a great team, they're here for a reason, if we want to win this series and become champions we have to play better from the start."

The Lakers went 15-of-38 from three-point range and led by as many as 32 points during their win.

Davis praised the Lakers' shooting but also said they needed to improve when holding such a big lead.

"If they're going to give us shots like that, we have got to be able to knock them down. Bron and [Rajon] Rondo and AC [Alex Caruso] is getting in the paint and guys are open for three so we work on our shots every game, working on shots pregame and practice, shootaround," he said.

"Guys have got to be able to make shots and we did that, which got us a good lead.

"We've got to obviously play better with the lead, we can't let guys come in and get too comfortable. We feel like we let Kendrick Nunn come in and get comfortable, obviously he's a talented player, but if we want to win the championship we have to be better.

"Championship mindset for the full 48 minutes, but guys made shots and got us this win."