The NBA Dribbled Out

Game 5: Oklahoma City at Miami

It is about damn time. After game 5 mercilessly ended for the overwhelmed Thunder, LeBron James had a conversation with Kevin Durant. It seemed to go on for longer than these sorts of talks normally do. The defeated player always seems anxious to go, but they want to hear what their competitor has to say. I’ve written about Jordan and Barkley’s exchange after Michal beat Chuck’s excellent Suns team in 1993 (after their friendship flourished on the Dream Team). I’ve heard Chuck speak about it before, but I always feel like it’s one of the those things even Chuck doesn’t really talk about with his usual detail. I wonder what LeBron said to Durant. I hope he said a longer and more eloquent: “You will be back and I’ll be here and we’ll do this again real soon.” Whatever he said—he probably said something much more personal and touching than what I offered and congratulated his summer “hell week” partner for another incredible season and many more overtures of respect and more than that, empathy—it made me happy. LeBron winning the title made me happy, and him trying to empathize with Durant made me happy. I was happy, is what I’m saying.

Then LeBron went over to every single Thunder player and clasped their heads close to his and either whispered something in their ears (like with Durant, but not nearly for as long) or just held the pose of head’s bowed close; and by doing that, implicitly acknowledging, “Hey man, I been there.” It’s that empathy that made this the type of series Stern has been salivating over since the LeBron narrative first took a negative turn in the summer of 2010. Before that the choosen one or king or whatever marketing name you use, had been nearly flawless since first coming under the media’s brutal lense more than a decade ago AS A 16 YEAR-OLD JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL! Sorry to shout, but it IS about damn time to relax the grip we seem to have on this guy as some sort of sounding board for all that is wrong with the game; he’s all that’s right with the game, and he proved it.

LeBron tried to speak a couple words to every Thunder player because he knows what it’s like to lose. Fortunately for Durant, he doesn’t have to suffer the ignominy of spectacularly failing in this series like LeBron did against Dallas a year ago. Durant—although unable to contain James or win the series—performed admirably and was the primary reason they avoided a sweep after taking over in the fourth quarter in game 1 and nearly winning game 2 the same way. He finished tonight with 32 points, and—unfortunately a little late—11 rebounds. He played like the hyper-efficient/perfect teammate/scoring savant he is. I still think my dream about him will prove prophetic one day, but we’ll just have to wait a bit longer before seeing him drop 64 in a playoff game. For now, he has been cast in a championship loss that forged LeBron a year ago. It’s motivation but also the soul-crushing sting all the champions inevitably experience on their journey for a title. He will of course be back, but now he has something to think about every time he doesn’t feel like running wind sprints or lifting weights this summer. 

After the post game presser, LeBron credited his 2011 failure against Dallas with making him grow up and become a better basketball player and a better person. That, ultimately, his lowest of moments on the grandest of stages is what gave him the toughness to get to the podium a champion this year. I’m pretty sure that’s when Stern wet himself with happiness.* Grand success, followed by some cracks in the mythic armor, followed by failure, but then redemption. It’s the hollywood movie we’ve seen again and again; the Byronic hero that overcomes his shortcomings and wins by being himself. 

The game itself was similar to Boston’s game 6 against LA in 2008. It was a blowout in the 4th and Miami was even able to take all their starters out before the game ended. Everyone’s spouses and kids could come down and party when the game ended. The Heat blowout was a result of a couple factors: LeBron finally getting that triple-double he was one rebound shy of in game 4, with 26 points 12 assists, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, a steal and the biggest grin imaginable holding the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Trophy; And Mike Miller’s turn as super-sub. Mike Miller was 7/9 from 3-point range for 23 points. This came two days after Mario Chalmers gave the Heat 25 crucial points in game 4, and Shane Battier started the series off with consecutive 17 point games. The Heat supporting cast came through just as much as LeBron. Wade made big plays down the stretch, and Bosh was tough inside with offensive rebounding and general protection of the rim. He also let out a couple Bostrich howls I loved. LeBron finally had an over-achieving team and he was ready. That’s all it took. It wasn’t easy, but it’s not supposed to be.

As James was accepting the Bill Russell 2012 NBA Finals MVP award (after capturing All-NBA First team honors, All-NBA Defensive First Tam honors, and the 2012 MVP) he said a couple words to the trophy’s eponymous representative and the standard-bearer of NBA Finals excellence: Bill Russell.  In response to the words of LeBron, Russell’s jaw slanted back in a familiar position as he shook in convulsions of laughter. No one laughs like Bill Russell, no one. James made him laugh that naked laughter of pure joy. Maybe one day LeBron will laugh with that much joy. A joy that can only be found by someone that’s reached their absolute zenith of potential. LeBron took a big step towards that same joy tonight. I couldn’t be happier for him. 

Final: MIAMI HEAT 121 - Oklahoma City Thunder 106

The Heat win the series 4-1 and they’re your 2012 NBA Champions. Now lets talk about anyone but LeBron James until at least September.

PHOTOS Yahoo & SI Vault

* You can decide for yourself what the liquid is

Game 4: Oklahoma City at Miami

By now you’ve heard of Miami’s victory; all but assuring them a title by going up 3-1 with another game at home and—failing that—two more games on the road to clinch. I just want to give Russell Westbrook a hug and protect him from the infamy he achieved last night. While it wasn’t quite Webber-ian in scope, it still dripped with confusion and angst and was the wrong play at the biggest moment in the game. A moment that could have only transpired with Westbrook playing the playoff game of his life.

Only Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal have scored 43 points with at least 7 rebounds and 5 assists in an NBA Finals game; that’s exclusive company Russ just joined, but both MJ and Shaq won their games. Coincidentally, yesterday was the 24th anniversary of Isiah Thomas’ 43 points in a game 6 Finals loss against the Lakers in 1988. As Russ said in the post-game, “it really doesn’t mean nothing, we didn’t come out with the win,” and that’s exactly right. I just wish I could write a post that affirms how incredible he was last night instead of adding the caveat about the foul on Chalmers.

His offensive fireworks, after continuously taking whichever man was guarding him to the bucket, got followed up by the foolish foul on Chalmers, down 3 with under 5 seconds on the shot clock and only 13 seconds left in the game. It was the lone flub during a pantheon-level game. Westbrook’s game 4 is a microcosm for all the abuse he’s gotten from the media during these Finals. It’s the duality of his struggles that everyone’s been writing about, so it makes sense he’d drop 40+ and also make a bone-headed foul in the closing seconds. It makes sense, but it’s really tough too. It’s tough because anybody that loves basketball loves Russell Westbrook and what he does. I just wish he had escaped the game without that disappointment. I hope his Thunder teammates stay supportive because he made 20 field goals, and that’s how many field goals the entire rest  of the Thunder team hit.

So how did we get to Russ’ unfortunate foul on Chalmers? Well, that’s almost as bizzare as the play itself. I write bizzare because I have no idea what was going through LeBron James’ mind after he left the game with 5:48 remaining and the Heat up 2. He had fallen and lost the ball, but got back on his feet and hit a grimacing set shot from 7 feet before going to the bench. He didn’t go to the bench with 6 fouls, but with leg cramps. Leg cramps? After LeBron left, Durant hit a pair of free throws to tie the game, and then hit a smooth jumper to put the Thunder ahead 94-92 with 4:20 to play.

James, to his credit, checked back into the game for James Jones at this point, but you could tell he was hobbled. He was gingerly walking around, and if you were a Heat fan, you had to be worried; especially considering no one could stop Russell Westbrook. After LeBron returned, Wade found Bosh for a lay-up with 3:42 left to tie the score 94-all. Westbrook finally missed an off-balance jumper and it was Heat ball.

With under three minutes remaining and the shot clock about to expire, ‘Bron found himself—barely able to stand and certainly unable to cut—with the ball at the top of the key. He dribbled a couple times to get some space and then launched a 3-pointer.

The bold 3 on his cramped legs gave the Heat the lead again, and Wade made it a 5-point lead after stealing the ball from Durant and hitting a lay-up on the other end. Russ came right back and made a lay-up to cut the lead to 3 again. This is when I realized James was really not hydrated enough, and it wasn’t just a facade to avoid the big moment. He had his big moment. 

LeBron shot another 3 from the short corner and came up with nothing but air. After seeing that, I realized: that’s a guy that shouldn’t be on the court. After Wade rushed Sefolosha into missing a 3, James Jones entered for LeBron with 55 seconds left and the Heat clinging to a 3-point lead. Coach Spoelstra said in his post-game presser

“That 3 was just sheer will and competitiveness, but it got to the point where it was just 4 on 5 and we had to make a change. He wanted to go back in, but it became obvious that he would hurt us if he went back out there.” 

But the game wasn’t won yet. The Heat’s star, LeBron James, was back on the bench with under a minute to play, and Westbrook aching to get the ball back. The Heat needed a score, so who did they turn to? Mario, or “Rio,” as Wade called him after the game, came through in the clutch, catching a pass from Wade as he was going to the hole and swooping past Ibaka’s out-stretched arm to hit a lay-in with 44 seconds left.

Obviously Russ, in true warrior fashion, came right back and hit a short pull-up to again cut the Heat lead to 3. On the ensuing possession, Wade missed a short jumper and the scramble for the ball saw Harden and Haslem both end up with it. The jump-ball between them got tipped to Westbrook, but Shane Battier (the absolute best at this) tipped it again to Chalmers, which is when Russ—unfortuntaely— fouled him. Chalmers would hit 3 of 4 free throws in the last 15 seconds to finish with 25 points and help the Heat clinch game 4.

There is a whole lot more to write about this game and this series, so get ready for some posts this afternoon and tonight because the Heat are on the verge of clinching the title they’ve been thinking about since Dirk led his Dallas team to a game 6 victory on Miami’s home-court last summer. They’re on the verge of a title that LeBron and Bosh have been thinking about since they announced they were coming to Miami in the summer of 2010. A title that everyone in the press has been waiting for from the league MVP three out of the last four years. A title to silence the ear-splitting crescendo that James can’t get it done when it matters.

They’ll have one more chance at home on Thursday night. They better hope they finish it out too because I wouldn’t want to go back to OKC and that insane crowd. Just because no team in the Finals has come back from 3-1 to win the series, doesn’t mean it can’t happen; if anyone can do it, it’s this Thunder team.

What a crazy series. I fuckin’ love this ish. 

Final: MIAMI HEAT 104 - Oklahoma City Thunder 98

The Heat lead the series 3-1

PHOTOS VIA

Game 3: Oklahoma City at Miami

Game 3 finally changed the narrative arc from the first two games. OKC again started slow, going down 10-4 to start the game, but they were only down 1 at half and mid-way through the 3rd period they were up by 10. 

Miami broke out to a 10-4 lead through the first 5 minutes, but OKC quickly came back and didn’t fall into the deficit’s that highlighted the first two games in Oklahoma City. That being said, the officiating was difficult to overcome, and it ended up costing Kevin Durant a stretch in the 3rd after the Thunder had built up a 10-point lead and appeared poised to steal the first game in Miami.

By the time Durant came back in the 4th, the Heat held a 2-point lead and the natural rhythm of Durant’s offensive game was gone. Before going to the bench in the 3rd he had abused the Heat almost every time he touched the ball. At one point, according to Marc J. Spears at Y! Sports, he yelled at Wade “you’re too short.” He was right. Durant’s long-limbed game and Gumby/Mister Fantastic length allowed him to abuse Wade in the post and get basically any shot he wanted. He was 3 for 3 in the quarter before Wade had his own brand of rebuttal to get the last laugh—at least for game 3.

Wade knew Durant had 3 fouls, and when he drove baseline with 5:41 left in the 3rd, his up-fake caught Durant enough (he only jumped a couple inches) to draw Durant’s 4th foul and a spot on the bench for the remainder of the quarter. The Thunder’s other star, Russell Westbrook, followed Durant to the bench because of some erratic play. With Durant and Westbrook on the bench, the Heat went on a 16-7 run punctuated by a late corner 3 from LeBron, and closed out the 3rd quarter with a 69-67 lead and a disgusted Durant on the bench.

The 4th seemed to be the time for fireworks. Durant had scored a combined 33 points in the 4th quarter in games 1 and 2, and he and Westbrook came off the bench to start the final 12 minutes with fire streaming from their corneas. After a James Jones 3 extended the Heat lead to 5, the Thunder came back. Westbrook and Durant scored with Harden getting the assist for both. But Durant missed a couple free throws (the league’s best free throw shooting team would shoot just 15/24 from the charity stripe on the night, and it’s possible if they had shot as well as they normally do, they would have won the game). However, even shooting poorly from the line, didn’t mean the Thunder were out of it. Harden scored with 7:31 remaining to give the Thunder a 77-76 lead, but LeBron came right back and drew the foul; he hit both free throws to give Miami the lead right back.

After LeBron’s free throws with 7:11 remaining, the offense’s turned sloppy as the defensive intensity was ratcheted up. Everyone was striving to put the other team away for a 2-1 series lead and that meant some truly intense defense. No one scored until there was 4:50 left. Wade made his long-stepping move in the lane where he brings the ball up high to avoid the initial defensive poke, then up again to take a leaner in the lane. Perkins fouled him on the shot and it swished through. He made the free throw for a 3-point play and a 4-point lead with under 5 to play.

After a James Harden turnover, and Chris Bosh was blocked, Shane Battier (quiet in game 3 with only 9 points, after scoring 17 points in each of the first two games) poked the ball away from Harden and Mario Chalmers picked up the loose ball and passed it ahead to James. James said he saw Durant moving into position for the charging call as he swooped in for the basket; he claimed he changed his angle just enough to get the blocking foul (see the last picture above). Replays showed that Durant appeared to have set his feet on the play, but he may have leaned into LeBron, which facilitated the blocking call. LeBron, of course, made the lay-in, and Durant had picked up his 5th foul for the second game in a row. LeBron made the free throw for a 7-point Miami lead. There was still 3:47 remaining, and Durant—who has never backed down from a challenge this postseason—came right back and drilled a 19-footer off a Westbrook pass. Miami’s lead was again cut to 5. Durant and LeBron were battling.

A stretch of missed shots in the lane for Miami on the ensuing possession gave OKC another chance to cut into Miami’s lead, but Durant, still out of rhythm slightly from his time on the bench in the 3rd, missed a 10 footer he normally makes in his sleep. LeBron came right back and drove to the hole for another lay-up and another 7-point lead. 2:18 remained. 

This is when Dwyane Wade would have been the goat if Miami had failed to hold on at the end. First, Wade fouled Kendrick Perkins on a shot and Perkins hit both free throws. As Wade was bringing the ball up the court, Thabo Sefolosha started hounding him. He stripped him briefly in the back-court before Wade recovered and accelerated to get across the half-court line before 8 seconds expired. As he was making a final cross-over to pass the mid line, Thabo again stripped Wade and they were both off the other way. Wade timed one of his blocks from behind, but Thabo withstood the pressure (which could have been a foul in it’s own right) and got the lay-in to fall. The Thunder were only down 3. Wade promptly exacerbated this tough stretch in the game by missing a mid-range jumper and giving the ball right back to OKC again with 1:36 remaining, only down 3. Russell Westbrook pulled up in the lane (there is no one who jumps higher and more straight on a pull-up than Russell Westbrook) and he hit the jumper to cut the Heat lead to 1 with 1:30 in the game.

Wade would have been the goat if the Heat lose, but they held on.

This was a huge possession for Miami, and as LeBron made a cut around the 3-point line to head south for the bucket, Perkins immediately came over to help as LeBron took to the air. ‘Bron had enough height and vision to loft a pass over Perkins to a waiting Chris Bosh. Bosh—rather than rushing a shot—settled himself with a head fake and when he got Thabo (helping off of LeBron) in the air, and drew the foul. He made both foul shots to give the Heat a tenuous 3-point lead.

At this point, with a little over a minute remaining, I was almost positive Kevin Durant would win the game. But again I come back to his stretch on the bench in the 3rd quarter as a rhythm-breaking lapse. At this point he missed a 9-foot jumper that collided awkwardly off the backboard, and LeBron gathered the rebound (he would have 14 on the night). LeBron missed his own mid-range jumper, as Westbrook gathered the rebound with 45 seconds remaining.

The Thunder passed the ball around, and the Heat’s collapsing lane defense gave Russ a wide-open 3-pointer to tie. The shot—without a defender within 5 feet of him—clanged off the back of the iron. Shane Battier gathered the rebound before passing to LeBron who the Thunder immediately fouled. LeBron missed his first free throw, but made the second—a big one as the Heat now had a 4-point lead with 16 seconds remaining. The Thunder called time to advance the ball, but when Thabo Sefolosha passed the ball in there was a miscommunication with Westbrook, who was breaking towards mid-court as Thabo sent a pass to the corner. Turnover. Heat ball with 13 seconds left. Wade is fouled, and he hits both free throws. Game over.

There are some who would blame this loss on the referees. It was they who assessed Durant his 4th foul in the 3rd and broke up what could have been another epic 2nd half from the league’s leading scorer, but Durant has had a tendency in the last two games to make silly fouls. While I think his blocking foul on LeBron in the 4th could have gone both ways, his supposedly “ticky-tack” foul on Wade in the 3rd was legit, and he has to do a better job just ignoring the pump-fakes and staying on his feet and out of foul trouble. It was a tough lose, but you can be sure Durant will learn from it.

If Durant had remained in the game for the 3rd period, I have little doubt he would have been a lot more accurate in the 4th quarter (where he was just 2/6), and the Heat—who struggled to win anyway—would have been at a loss trying to defend him. The Plastic Man needs to stay on the court because he’s been impossible for the Heat to stop late in games. The Finals are a time where he has to be on the floor, even if that means giving up an occasional easy lay-up.

The Heat got lucky in game 3, but LeBron was again filling up the box score with 29 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists. That’s actually a ho-hum performance for him, and Wade had that awful stretch in the 4th where he almost cost the Heat the game, so both superstars—even with the victory—can do more.

There is plenty for both teams to work on as this was the sloppiest game of their series so far. A series—I might add—that’s shaping up to be one of the best we’ve seen in this millennium. 

I can’t wait for Tuesday.

Final: MIAMI HEAT 91 - Oklahoma City Thunder 85

The Heat lead the series 2-1

PHOTOS VIA

Game 2: Miami at Oklahoma City 

Kevin Durant and even LeBron James had to think like mere mortals as they accrued fouls just like everyone else in game 2. LeBron picked up 2 really quick fouls in the 2nd quarter and had to sit more than he’s used to, which may have actually benefited him towards the end of the game. The strange thing about Durant is he didn’t really get going—scoring 16 points in the 4th—until he picked up his 5th foul with just 10 minutes left in the game. Durant’s was a stupid loose ball foul on Haslem as he grabbed a rebound, and at the time I shook my head in wonder at the luck of this Miami team, but the 5th foul seemed to embolden Durant, and he did his warlock thing in the 4th where every shot is met by an audible “splash” from me because I just know it’s going in. He’s an assassin because I was never once wrong with my annoying “spash” as everyone told me to shut the fuck up. 

LeBron James, a resurgent Dwyane Wade, a hot hot hot Shane Battier and a battling Chris Bosh (who had a double-double at halftime) all banded together and got this win for the Heat. LeBron kept attacking like he did in game 1; except, in this game, he got the victory and so the narrative will say he finally figured it out or some crap. No, he got in the paint a bunch, shot a respectable 10/22 from the field, went to the free throw line 6 times and was a perfect 12/12 when he got there.

LeBron also dished 5 assists, grabbed 8 rebounds and had at least 3-4 grown man moves where he took the contact finished at the hoop and didn’t say a word to the refs as he trotted back up court. It was a fun thing to see even as two acquantainces screamed about what a ponce he was. He did take some stupid 3’s including one late, but for the most part played like the MVP should play. This is the world we live in post-Decision.

But lets get into the game because it seemed to follow the same trajectory as game 1. Shane Battier hit a couple 3-pointers in the 1st quarter and Oklahoma City started sluggish as Miami built a big lead, 27-15, after one quarter. The teams matched each other in the second period, with James Harden finally finding his scoring touch (he would go 7/11 from the field for 21 points in 35 minutes after managing only 5 points in their game 1 victory), and the Heat went into half with a 12 point lead. Everyone who watched the first game had to be feeling a little deja vu. Even a part-time fan, like my college buddy whose apartment near the East River I enjoyed the game at, kept saying “they’re gonna come back.” Oh boy did they, and it just seemed to be a continuation of game 1’s Jekyll and Hyde act for OKC.

After starting the game 3/9 from the field in the first half, Kevin Durant was a perfect 7 for 7 to start the second half, and he and Westbrook combined again to score 40+ points in a second half the Thunder mosly dominated. Shane Battier and Dwyane Wade kept the Heat in it throughout the 3rd period, so OKC only made up a single point of their 12-point deficit. The 4th is when it all started to fall apart for Miami. First Durant picked up that 5th foul after tangling with Haslem after a rebound with 10:30 left in the game and the Heat up 11. Chris Bosh quickly drew another foul on Collison and after hitting both free throws, the Heat led by 13 with 9:03 remaining. That’s when OKC went on their run.

Why the Thunder can’t play with that same kind of urgency for 48 minutes is a mystery. Maybe they aren’t getting ready enough before the game; building up a lather before the ball is tossed, so they can flow seamlessly into the back and forth of the highest court in the land. I really don’t know, but they’ve come out flat in the 1st quarter in 2 straight games and it’s a large reason they’ve given up home court advantage for the time being. But they’ve made up for their apathetic starts by going into beast mode in the 4th quarter—particularly the league’s leading scorer: Kevin Durant.

With 8:51 remaining, Durant nailed a 25-footer from the wing to cut the Heat lead to 10. Chalmers missed a 3, and on the ensuing mini-transition as Miami faltered getting back on defense, Durant swooped to the rim without a thought about picking up his 6th—and final—foul ,and dunked it over Shane Battier. The Heat lead was cut to 8, and the Thunder fans were coming alive.

After Wade and Durant traded free throws and Harden and Bosh traded lay-ins, a bad Mario Chalmers pass (and you were wondering why we saw a lot of Norris Cole last night) was intercepted by Nick Collison and Durant passed it ahead to Russell Westbrook. LeBron was coming back on defense and they met at the rim…

After Westbrook hit the free throw to complete the 3-point play, the Heat lead that had been 13 earlier in the quarter was now just 4. Wade and Harden traded buckets and then Shane Battier hit a ridiculous, banked-in 3-pointer at the top of the key under pressure. Then he did that weird tongue thing around his nose again.

Heat by 7 now; except, Kevin Durant immediately got open for a Westbrook feed that led to that short, corner 3, and all of a sudeen it was just a 4-point Heat lead again. It was back and forth, back and forth and God, I was on cloud 9. OKC was finally playing like they need to in order to win this series, but instead of faltering like they did in game 1, Miami was battling right back. 

After a pair of free throws from LeBron put the Heat back up by 6, and Durant hit 1 of 2 free throws there was a lull for both teams until a pretty Wade fadeaway off a LeBron assist took a shooter’s bounce and dropped into the net. Heat by 7 with 2:58 remaining. 

I’m sure there will be some national sports pundits—like that dillweed Bayless—that will point to Westbrook’s 10/26 shooting night and freak out about how Durant needs more shots, but down 7 with under 3 minutes to play, Russell Westbrook took over. First he did one of those drives where he flashes between two Heat defenders on the pick and roll; the Heat appear to be stuck in clay as Russ’ explosive first step gets him past the defenders and to the rim before they’ve even comprehended the move. The second bucket occured off a missed Durant reverse in transition: all 6’3” and 187 pounds of Westbrook (I’m 6’3” 180 by comparison) met the rebound at the rim and tipped it in as he was surrounded by Heat players. The Heat only led 94-91 inside two minutes and the Chesapeake Energy Solutions Arena was rumbling like there really was Thunder on the inside of the stadium.

 Up until this point in the 4th quarter, LeBron was 0/2 and had just 2 points on free throws. Durant had 11 points in the same span. So LeBron looked to attack, but Sefolosha cut him off and forced him left. Around 16 feet out, LeBron gave a collective (meditative?) exhale of breath, and banked in a shot.

It would be his only bucket of the quarter, but it was huge, and it gave the Heat a 5-point lead with 1:25 left to play. After Durant missed a 3 (that I swore was going in) and a scrum under the basket with Sefolosha and Westbrook both getting looks that missed, the Heat regained possession of the ball. Wade took the ball at the top of he key, with LeBron and Battier spread wide. Wade did his slithering, juking, topsy-turvy drive thing and then he was in the air and Ibaka was coming over to swat his lay-up away…except he found the cutting Bosh for a dunk, Heat by 7, Oklahoma City timeout, and the crowd was silent.

Everyone I was watching the game with said it was over, but I knew Kevin Durant’s shooting means it’s almost never over, especially when it’s the NBA Finals and he has the look.*  

Out of the timeout Durant scored on a lay-in almost immediately, with only 3 seconds coming off the block. On the ensuing out-of-bounds play, Dwyane Wade almost became the goat. He was stripped near mid-court and on the ensuing scramble the Thunder recovered the ball and got it ahead to Westbrook, who smartly dumped it to Durant, with LeBron missing an opportunity to steal that pass. Durant, calmly stepped behind the arc and hit the 3. Within the span of about 15 seconds, the Heat’s lead had dropped from 7 to 2, and every Thunder fan was blitzkrieging the court with their hoarse shouts.

Miami barely made it across mid-court to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, instead of running a nice play for a good look, LeBron held the ball at the top of the key until there was 14 seconds left and launched one of those off-balance, ill-advised 3’s from the top of the arc. It clanged off the back of the iron and the Thunder recovered the ball.

I thought it was over, since either Durant would hit a 3 and get the win, or he would tie the score and the clock would run out forcing overtime. Overtime on the road is killer, so I thought Oklahoma City had stolen this game and possibly the whole series as a result. 

But that’s not what happened. The final possession for Oklahoma City has already been dissected for a couple different reasons, but I’ll give you the argument de jour from last night among some of my acquaintances. First, here’s the play.

The first question posed was why did Kevin Durant shoot the ball with 7 seconds remaining? The theory being that even if he made the shot, that would still give Miami a final chance to win it in regulation. With the way Wade and LeBron can drive to the basket, this seems risky. Let me answer that one. If you watch closely, you can see LeBron cheating towards the middle. So as Durant is receiving the ball, LeBron is playing him baseline. Durant feels it more than sees it, and turns accordingly. If you have an open look and an opportunity to tie the game, even if it means leaving time on the clock for Miami to get the win, you go for it. I think it was a smart play by Durant; he took the opening, rather than wait for the clock to wind down some more and perhaps never get as good a look as he did.

The second argument that broke out was over whether Durant was fouled on the shot. I don’t know. LeBron certainly made some contact down low, striking Durant’s chest as he was shooting, but even Durant said after the game, “I just missed the shot, man.” Yes there was contact, but the foul wasn’t called and perhaps the officials should be applauded for the non-call instead of portrayed as some sort of Stern minions trying to market the league better by making the series as even as possible when OKC has the better team. Who knows. 

There are a million NBA conspiracy nuts out there (e.g. the tampering charges over this year’s draft lottery), and I’m sure they’ll all be sounding off on message boards about what a terrible no call this was at the end. Regardless, LeBron snatched the rebound and made both his free throws. Game over, Heat win. I’ll have more on this game and the reaction later. 

Final: Miami Heat 100 - OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 96

The Thunder and Heat are tied 1-1

PHOTOS VIA

*Heres “The Look”

Game 1: Miami at Oklahoma City

To start the game, most replays show Shane Battier hitting a few 3-pointers as the Heat jumped out to a double-digit lead. I saw LeBron James start the game off with two long-range two’s that clanked off the rim like long-range two’s are wanton to do when they’re launched from ‘Bron’s awkward, jutted-out right elbow. I turned to my friend and expressed my dismay that he was off, and this was gonna be a long night for the Heat. I was wrong, but not really.

Battier was exceptional in the first half, scoring 13 points, not on his usual 3-pointers—though he did have a couple of those—but on give and go’s and a runner in the lane. It was Shane Battier circa 2001, when he won the National Player of the Year award as a Duke senior (I know, a senior!). Shane was exceptional and the other Heat were playing with the same intensity they had in game 7 against Boston. The Thunder seemed tentative on offense and sloppy on defense in the first quarter. The Heat train was running and slapping balls outta hands and generally being more aggressive on both ends of the court. But Durant kept the Thunder in it in the opening period; he hit some 3-pointers and scored 11 first quarter points to keep it under 10. 

A James Harden jumper as the quarter ended gave the Thunder some momentum going into the second quarter.

But the Heat train kept rolling. LeBron started to hit his stride with a runner in the lane and a couple free throws. Battier worked the pick and roll with Chalmers and dropped a pretty floater from 7-feet out. The Heat built a 13 point lead with 9:13 to go in the second quarter after James intercepted a Durant pass and slammed it home.

But the Thunder started to make some progress after that, and it was obvious they were starting to get into the flow. Russ started to rack up some assists and Harden, Ibaka and Collison (playing huge in game 1 with 8 big points on 4/5 shooting off the bench) all scored to close out the half. The Thunder were only down 54-47. If you were a Heat fan, you had to have known that lead was tenuous at best, and basically nonexistent at worse. The Thunder had gotten over their jitters in the first quarter and I could feel them waiting to explode in the second half. 

Jeff Van Gundy made a good point as both teams came out in the third quarter: a lot of players don’t warm up as well after halftime as they do before the game; they’ll get a lather working for the 1st quarter, but they look rigid in the 3rd quarter because they’ve gotten a bit cold during halftime and they don’t work up that same lather before the third. Well, OKC sure did.

Durant hit a 3 to start things off and Russ started to get in the lane more. LeBron answered with a 3 of his own and the two teams went back and forth as the Thunder chipped away at the rapidly deteriorating Heat lead. After settling for off-kilter jumpers to start the game, LeBron started to explode to the bucket with the ferocity of the league’s regular season MVP. With 2:34 in the quarter, LeBron got bumped by Durant as he started a move to the bucket; he took the contact, but because he’s so strong and his balance is so good, his continuation lead to a dunk over Perkins for a possible 3-point play. 

LeBron—of course—missed the free throw and the Heat lead was still just 5. That’s when Russ started attacking. He split the high screen and rolls and he took advantage of some tentative perimeter defending to get to the bucket and either draw the foul, finish, or draw the foul and still finish. Russ ended the 3rd quarter and put the Thunder ahead for the first time all game with a slashing lay-in and 1 that fired up the crowd and set the stage for an epic 4th quarter with the Thunder leading 74-73. 

Coming into the Finals, the 4th quarter is what everyone was waiting for. LeBron and Durant would be battling to finish games off and take a psychological hold on the series. Round 1 has to go to Durant. He was simply unstoppable in the final 12 minutes, scoring 17 points on a variety of dunks, mid-range jumpers over Wade and longer range 3’s with that fluid stroke.

Instead of playing hero ball, LeBron should be commended for forcing his way into the lane and getting good looks. In a few instances the ball simply rimmed out, but my yelling at the TV to get into the paint wasn’t needed. He was going to go down on the block and force the action to be played with his over-powering strength.  

Despite LeBron’s attempts to get into the lane, Durant simply would not stop scoring, and when Westbrook added his slashing brilliance, it was too much for the Heat to stay with the Thunder late. LeBron had a nice driving lay-in with 1:38 left to cut the Thunder lead to 5, but a couple passes to Collison and Sefolosha answered as the Heat turned the ball over. A pair of Durant free throws with 12 second left sealed the game 105-94 and added 16th and 17th points of the quarter for the league’s scoring champ.

Before the game, according to Sekou Smith, the Thunder were pretty relaxed—even as the biggest game of their careers approached. Besides Durant, the Thunder came out slow, but the rest of his teammates picked up the slack in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and Durant and Westbrook finished them off in the second half. All told, Durant and Westbrook’s 41 second half points out-scored the entire Heat team, who only managed 40. It was a nice end to the game for Oklahoma City and gives the Thunder an important, confidence-boosting opening victory. Keep in mind, though, Miami is playing on the road, and I liked what I saw from LeBron, who was aggressive and didn’t shy away from the ball down the stretch, like he did so many times against Dallas last year. Durant may have won round 1, but you can be sure LeBron and Wade will come out just as tough in game 2 in OKC on Thursday.

All the hype and talk before the series about Durant and LeBron was warranted as both players led their teams in scoring, 36 and 30 respectively. LeBron also had 4 steals. Russell Westbrook almost had a triple-double, finishing with 27 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds. Besides LeBron, Battier dropped 17 surprising points (13 of which came in that big first half) and Wade added 19 points and 8 assists. If the Heat are going to win on Thursday to split the opening two games in OKC, they’ll need more offense from Wade and better production from Haslem, Chalmers and Miller. 

This is gonna be a beautiful couple weeks. I can’t wait for Round 2 between Durant and LeBron.

Final: OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 105 - Miami Heat 94

The Thunder lead the series 1-0

PHOTOS VIA