The Oklahoma City Thunder came back from a 13 point deficit in the first half to defeat LeBron James and the Miami Heat 105-94. It is not the way the Heat wanted to start their finals campaign after failing to win it all last year. Early on it seemed as thought the Heat had the advantage as Shane Battier led the charge hitting three 3 pointers in the first quarter. Miami was very hot in the first half from the field shooting 52% from the field and 60% from three. However the second half charge was a complete team effort from the Thunder. Durant and Westbrook alone outscored the entire Heat team in second half 41-40. The fourth quarter was the Kevin Durant show as he scored 17 to secure the Thunder victory. Here is a short analysis of both teams.
MIAMI HEAT
Miami got out to a quick start looking very sharp on both ends of the ball. They forced 4 turnovers and led by as many as 11 in the first quarter.. In the first half they shot over 50% from the floor and only had four turnovers. Lebron James led in points at the half with 14 and he would finish with 30. In the second half however, things began to fall apart. Most of it on defense.Coach Eric Spoelstra should have put LeBron on Kevin Durant because Durant went savage. LeBron is a very good defender who is very physical and very long. It was a big mistake on the part of the Heat. Also in the second half Shane Battier and Mario Chalmers stopped scoring which put even more pressure on the big three. Besides LeBron the others (d-wade and Chris Bosh) did not play very well. They were not aggressive and shot poorly from the field.The Heat lacked intensity and did not seem to want it as much as the Thunder. Now the fourth quarter as we all know is not Lebrons best so it is important that Dwyane Wade take over and he did not. He only had seven points and Chris Bosh only had two. In order to win game two the Heat have to regain the intensity they had in the first quarter of game 1 and Dwyane Wade HAS to get going. He has to put up big numbers or else the Heat will not beat the Thunder. This is very unusual of him to play so poor especially on the big stage. He went a poor 7-19 from the field. The reason why they were up at half was because of bench play which is a great sign for the Heat because it will take the ENTIRE Miami team to beat OKC.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Besides getting out to a very slow start the Oklahoma City Thunder looked spectacular last night on their home floor. Kevin Durant (36-8-4) and Russell Westbrook (27-8-11) led the way. Kevin Durant was nothing short of impressive getting 17 in the fourth quarter. An aspect of this game that really impressed me was the play from others besides the big three. Thabo Sefolosha was an absolute monster guarding Dwyane Wade and LeBron James getting them out of rhythm and forcing turnovers. Derek Fisher also played well, well enough to get more minutes than James Harden. His veteran leadership was evident and he played a big role in the Thunder comeback. Nick Collison played like a beast, even though it may not appear on the stat sheet but his presence in the paint was crucial. He scored 8 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.Once the Thunder got going it was no stopping them in second half. They were +18 and only had two turnovers. I am not sure if it was nerves but they looked jumpy and unorganized but got it going as the game went along. An overall great performance from OKC as they looked poised to take the title. An important aspect that needs to improve is James Harden. He was only 2-6 with 5 points. At this point this is not a mjor concern but something to be aware of.
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