Russell Westbrook dribbling the ball during Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics at TD BankNorth Garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Kevin Durant continued his torrid march through the NBA playoffs, carrying the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Miami Heat in the opener of the Finals on Tuesday night.
Durant rallied the Thunder after they lost the first two games of the Western Conference finals to the San Antonio Spurs and he brought them back against the Heat in Game 1 of the Finals, scoring 17 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter. The Heat led by as many as 13 in the first half, but couldn't hold back the young Thunder after halftime. Russell Westbrook scored 18 of his 27 points after halftime.
LeBron James led the Heat with 30 points, but it wasn't enough to keep the Thunder at bay. Not with the other two members of the Heat's Big Three struggling. Dwyane Wade missed 12 of 19 shots and Chris Bosh missed seven of 11.
The Thunder didn't take their first lead until less than 15 seconds remained in the third quarter. Westbrook, who struggled in the first half, sparked the surge, scoring 12 points in the quarter. To a man, the Thunder picked up their aggression in the second half.
The Heat were expected to get strong play from their small forward. And they did initially – from Shane Battier, not James.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra kept Battier in the starting lineup over Chris Bosh, despite Bosh's strong play at the end of the Eastern Conference finals. The move paid off early: Battier made three 3-pointers in the opening quarter. Heat guard Mario Chalmers also hit a pair in the quarter to help stake the Heat to a 29-22 lead.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks had worked to treat his team's preparation just like any other week in the playoffs – even if he knew that wasn't true.
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