Thunder rally, capture Game 1
Lopresti: Durant one-ups James in opener, 10C
OKLAHOMA CITY — Due to nerves, because of their first NBA Finals, or rust, because of their five-day layoff, the Oklahoma City Thunder started slowly Tuesday against the Miami Heat.
But after halftime they settled into the type of rhythm that had suffocated the San Antonio Spurs in the final four games of the Western Conference finals, with NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant putting up 17 fourthquarter points.
That helped the Thunder overcome a 13-point first-half deficit and defeat the Heat 105-94, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the bestof-seven series and remaining unbeaten at home in the postseason.
“I don’t think we played with enough force in the first half,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.
Game 1 winners are 21-7 in the Finals since 1984. However, Miami won Game 1 last season and lost the title to the Dallas Mavericks.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra’s tactical decision for much of the game was having LeBron James defend someone other than Durant. It allowed James to conserve energy and avoid foul trouble. But it was a gam- ble because James is Miami’s best defender.
And the DurantRussell Westbrook combination wore down the Heat with quickness and shot-making. Westbrook finished with 27 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Durant had a game-high 36 points, becoming the fourth youngest to score 35 or more in the NBA Finals.
“We have to get stops. Every time I looked up, they were shooting over 50%,” Spoelstra said. “But we’re a better defensive team than we showed tonight. . . . Second-chance points, points in the paint, loose balls, they were quicker to those.”
James had a career-best 30 points for a Finals game but just seven in the fourth quarter. The Thunder also limited Dwyane Wade (19 points, 7-for-19 shooting) and Chris Bosh (10 points), who came off the bench for the fourth game in a row.
The Heat wasted forward Shane Battier’s 17 points (12 on threepointers) and received little production from their bench.
“Everybody played hard in the second half and we stuck together,” Durant said. “We decided as a team to do that.”