Oklahoma City Thunder own the fourth quarter to defeat Miami Heat in Game 1 of NBA Finals: Part 1
The Oklahoma City Thunder took some time to get the Finals jitters out of their system and play their normal game, but stepped up in time to hand Miami Heat a 105-94 defeat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals here at the Chesapeake Energy
Arena.
The Heat outplayed the Thunder in the 1st half of the game, but OKC came back strong in the second period and were led by Kevin Durant.
Durant had 17 points in the 4th quarter alone as he led the Thunder charge with 36 points and 8 rebounds for the night. LeBron James had 30 points and 9 rebounds for Heat.
"We showed a lot of toughness in the second half, but we've just won one game. K.D. (Durant) is a terrific player but he's special because he defends. In our huddles it's all about defense,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks after
a game in which the Thunder came back from a 13 point deficit in the 1st half.
Miami started hot from the field with Shane Battier going 3 of 3 from the distance in the first 7 minutes of the game. A three pointer by Mario Chalmers had Miami up 20-10 with 5:26 left in the first period. A step back jumper
by James Harden with the game clock running down as he fell to the floor after releasing the ball had the Thunder trailing 22-29 at the end of the period. OKC went 1 of 6 from the field to open the game and fell behind the Heat right from the word go.
A determined James took over the second quarter, where he scored 10 points including the 1st and last points of the period for Miami. A steal by James followed by a dunk on the fast break gave Miami their biggest lead
of the night at 37-24 early in the 2nd period.
Trailing 37-47, the Thunder scored 10 points in the final three minutes of the half, with 6 straight points from Serge Ibaka. That run helped them trail Miami 47-54 at halftime as they went into the break feeling confident and
on a streak.
As has been the case in many of the Thunder’s games this post season, they dominated their opponents in the third quarter.
Thunder brought the momentum they had built at the end of the 1st half. Durant opened the scoring for the 2nd half with a three pointer. An assist by him then found Sefolosha undefended under the rim and he
scored on a reverse layup to tie the game at 60, making it a contest from there on as the Thunder crowd went crazy. They still trailed the rest of the quarter but took a 74-73 lead in the final seconds with a three point play by Russell Westbrook.
Tags: