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It was a rematch of the NBA Finals today between the Miami Heat and the OKC Thunder. It may have been a preview of the NBA Finals this season, if so, that does not bode well for the Thunder, as they lost 100-110. Here are five takeaways from this game:
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“They jumped on us early and we were playing uphill the rest of the way. We kept fighting but it was just too late. They doubled every screen and made us take bad shots. We’re not as bad as what we played tonight, but I was anticipating a much better game,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks.
The Miami Heat jumped out of the gate strong and outscored the Thunder 32-17 in the first quarter. The Heat held the Thunder to a woeful 35.7% shooting in the first quarter. LeBron had 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the first half alone. As a team, the Heat dropped 63 points on the Thunder in the first half, the most allowed by the Thunder in a first half this season. They cooled off eventually in the fourth quarter, but were able to hold on for the win.
“We kinda let our guard down there a little bit in the fourth quarter. But I was just trying to make plays for my teammates. We had a great game plan and went out and executed it,”James said.
The Thunder outscored the Heat 31-22 in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to pull away with a win. Ray Allen and Dwyane Wade had 13 a piece and Bosh added 20 to LeBron’s 39. The Thunder only had two players in double figures, Durant with his 40 and Westbrook with his 26.
This was the shot with which, LeBron ended his streak:
LeBron James had just made history by becoming the first player to score at least 30 points on 60% shooting in six straight games. That’s a remarkable achievement because if you are gunning for the high score on purpose, there’s a good chance your shooting percentage will slump. And if you’re trying to keep your shooting percentage high, there’s a good chance you won’t be able to hit the 30 point mark. The only way to keep such a streak alive is by playing the game the right way and taking what the defense gives you. Including that needless heave when the game was decided. LeBron has been doing that for six games, but his shooting percentage came up short today as he shot 58.3% from the field on 14 of 24 shooting to score 39 points.
While the streak of scoring 30+ while shooting 60% or above may be over, James still has a streak of 30+ and 55% to keep alive and that streak extended to 7 games, going into All-Star weekend with this win over the Thunder. James also became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain back in 1962 season to score 30 points in seven straight games heading into the all star break. Another streak continuing is that of the Heat beating the Thunder again and again. Going back to the NBA Finals, the Heat have now defeated the Thunder in six straight games.
The OKC Thunder enjoyed a significant advantage at the free throw line. They shot 33 of 34 from the stripe for 97.1% shooting. The Heat only shot 17 of 22 from the line. The Thunder’s dominance at the line was spearheaded by Russell Westbrook, who shot 12 of 13 from the line and Kevin Durant who shot a perfect 15 of 15 from the line.
Battle of the potential MVPs one ought to say. The MVP award this season seems to be a lock between Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Durant dropped 40 on the Heat today on 12 of 24 shooting and added 8 rebounds and 4 assists. LeBron had a more well rounded game as he scored 39 points on 14 of 24 shooting and had 12 rebounds and 7 assists. More importantly, James’ team won. The Heat are now 36-14 for the season and the Thunder dropped to 39-14.
The Thunder will play the Rockets next and the Heat will go up against the Atlanta Hawks. In the Eastern Conference, the supremacy of the Heat seems to be unchallenged and they may well make it to the Finals again. The Thunder may have a more difficult time in getting past the Clippers or Spurs. Even so, this right here is a potential preview of the NBA Finals. And a battle between two of the best players on the planet.
