The Miami Heat survived a late explosion from Kevin Durant, as MVP LeBron James nailed two clutch free throws to seal their 100-96 win, Thursday (Friday, PHL time) at Oklahoma City, tying the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
The Heat were hot right from the opening tip. With Chris Bosh returning to the starting line-up, the Eastern Conference champs ripped off an 18-2 run in the game's first seven minutes, while their defense held the hometown Thunder to a miserable 1-for-12 clip.
Their advantage then grew to as much as 25-8 before Oklahoma City sent in their reserves to spark the club. Sixth Man of the Year James Harden provided 17 first-half points, but whenever the Thunder got the lead down to around 10 points, Miami was there with a counter, as they entered the break up 55-43.
In the third quarter, a three-pointer by Shane Batier pushed the Heat lead all the way up to 15 points, 70-55 at the 5:54 mark, after Durant had gotten it down to 12 on a three of his own. Russell Westbrook scored the last two Thunder field goals though, to make it a more manageable 11-point lead going into the final period.
Things turned dire for Durant and the Thunder, when the three-time scoring champ was tagged with his fifth foul of the game fighting for a rebound with Udonis Haslem at the 10:30 mark of the fourth quarter.
However, Thunder head coach Scotty Brooks gambled though by leaving him in, and the decision paid off, as "the Durantula" exploded for five straight to make it 82-74, a run capped off by an earthshaking dunk that forced Miami to sue for time.
Shane Battier gave the Heat some breathing room, ending a 7-2 Thunder run with a booming triple off a Mario Chalmers assist, 90-83, 5:07 left, but Durant was still on fire, answering with a triple of his own to make it a four-point game.
Off a series of steals, Westbrook then connected on a put-back dunk off a Durant miss that made it a single-possession game, 94-91, 1:47 remaining.
James countered though with a two-pointer off a timeout, his first field goal of the fourth period, then on the next possession, the Thunder wasted multiple close-in looks, only for the ball to go out of bounds. The Heat then padded their advantage with a play involving their Big Three, resulting in a dunk by Bosh that made it 98-81, under a minute to play.
A quick score by Durant made it five points, 98-83, 48.5 seconds remaining. Wade then turned the ball over off a steal by veteran Derek Fisher, and the Thunder got the ball to Durant for the three, 98-96, which James was unable to match.
With 12.3 seconds to go, the Thunder called timeout, with a chance to win or force overtime, OKC went for the safe play with Durant in the post. His shot missed though, and when the Thunder sent James to the line, the much-maligned forward responded with two charities to make it a two-possession affair, good enough for the win.
Oklahoma City won the opening game 105-94 on Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time). The best-of-seven series shifts to Miami for Game Three on Sunday night (Monday, PHL time). - AMD, GMA News
