Heat Overwhelms Thunder For A 108-103 Victory
OKLAHOMA CITY (CBS4) — The Miami Heat overwhelmed Oklahoma's Thunder Sunday when Dwyane Wade scored 32 points and Eddie House hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 22.2 seconds left as the Heat got their Big 3 back together, besting the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-103.
LeBron James added 23 points and 13 rebounds, Chris Bosh scored 20 in his first game back after a four-game absence and the Heat snapped Oklahoma City's six-game home winning streak.
Kevin Durant scored 33 points but missed a contested jumper along the left baseline that would've put the Thunder back on top. Jeff Green had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 21 points and 10 assists.
It still wasn't enough to overcome strong performances from Miami's Big 3, playing together for the first time in two weeks.
Bosh had been sidelined four games with a sprained left ankle and Wade had missed two of those games, due to migraine headaches and a wrist injury.
Still, it was none of the All-Stars who made the biggest shot of the game.
After Wade missed a jumper from the left wing, Mike Miller snagged the rebound and kicked it out to James, who passed it over to House for a 3 on the right sideline that made it 105-103.
James contested Durant's attempt to tie it at the other end, and Nick Collison swatted the rebound toward midcourt, where Wade tracked it down. He hit his first free throw before missing the second, and the rebound was initially awarded to the Thunder after it went out of bounds under the basket.
A replay review showed it deflected off Collison last, and House hit two free throws to close out the game after he received the inbounds pass.
Durant also had 10 rebounds but went just 2 for 10 from the field in the second half. Most of his damage came from the foul line, where he went 11 for 13 in the second half and finished 16 for 19.
Wade staked the Heat to their largest lead by spinning away from Westbrook for a jumper along the left baseline that made it 98-90 with 5:51 to play and finished a 13-2 run.
But Wade was still upset after Serge Ibaka blocked his layup attempt on Miami's next possession and drew a technical foul after Green got a fast-break layup at the other end. Durant hit the foul shot and added a 3-pointer to get Oklahoma City to 98-96 with 4:31 to play.
Durant missed a chance to tie it up, and Westbrook couldn't connect on a putback or a jumper on the same possession.
Bosh tipped in Wade's miss to bump Miami's lead to four, and Wade made it 102-97 with a pair of free throws after Durant had gone 1 for 2 at the line.
Oklahoma City got a pair of free throws from both Westbrook and Durant, and then got a chance to go ahead after Bosh's missed jumper on a failed attempt to draw a foul against Durant — with the same rip move Durant uses frequently to catch opponents reaching in against him.
Durant came around a screen and connected on a jumper from the top of the key with 34.3 seconds left to put Oklahoma City up 103-102.
The Heat had been scuffling, losing five of six before beating Detroit by a point Friday night on James Jones' disputed block of Austin Daye's dunk at the buzzer.
The Thunder had lost three of four and then needed overtime to beat Minnesota and Washington — both in last place — in their last two games.
But this one was action-packed right from the start.
Back at full strength, the Heat were clicking again on offense, hitting 62 percent of their shots while racing out to a 64-61 halftime lead — but still playing catch-up against the Thunder most of the way.
Westbrook set up Nenad Krstic for a two-handed jam and then hit two layups during an early 11-0 run by the Thunder, and his two-handed jam on a fast break put Oklahoma City up 26-16 with about 5 minutes left in the first quarter.
Wade had a two-handed alley-oop dunk and a three-point play while leading the Heat back to within one, only for the Thunder to push their lead back to 47-38 behind a 3-pointer and a jumper from Cook — acquired in a Heat offseason salary dump that made room for James and Bosh.
Another Wade three-point play set up by James' ninth first-half assist started an 8-0 run that put Miami ahead 55-53.
NOTES: Bosh and Durant received a double technical foul in the first quarter after Bosh hacked Harden to prevent a fast-break basket. Westbrook got one for swinging his fist in the air after being whistled for a personal foul against Mario Chalmers in the final minute of the first half. ... James' eight first-quarter assists were the most in period by a Heat player this season. ... The Thunder were seeking their longest home winning streak since moving to Oklahoma City.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
