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Heat look to avoid a 0-2 hole against the Thunder

Miami came out smoking in Tuesday night’s Game 1, showing no lingering effects from its knock-down and dragged-out series against Boston, but a seven-point halftime lead turned into a one-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter. From there the tanks finally ran dry in a 105-94 loss as a five-point road underdog. The total went ‘over’ the 195-point line.

You cannot fault LeBron James, who led the team with 30 points, or the Heat’s ability to spread the ball around with a total of five players scoring in double figures. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points and added eight assists while Chris Bosh rounded-out the Big Three’s performance with 10 points and five rebounds. Miami was outrebounded by the Thunder 43-35 but the biggest reason it lost the game down the stretch on Tuesday night was the inability to slow down Oklahoma City’s relentless attack.

The man primarily responsible for running the Thunder’s track meet was Kevin Durant. He was virtually unstoppable with a game-high 36 points. Add in the fact that he shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range and you have the makings of not only a run to a world title but a full-length highlight reel with Durant starring as the series MVP.

It also helped that Russell Westbrook shot 41.7 percent from the floor to add another 27 points and Serge Ibaka chipped-in 10 points and six rebounds in the winning effort. Oklahoma City has now won nine-straight home games in the playoffs while covering the spread in six. This team is well aware of the fact that it will need to run this steak to 10 on Thursday night with the next three games of this series on the road in Miami.

Prediction

The final score of Game 1 was not a true indication of how close this matchup actually was. The Heat are now well aware of what it will take to win on the road in this series and realize they have to play four full quarters against a team that is just as if not more talented than themselves. Oklahoma City gets the win but stick with Miami to keep things close enough to cover with the five points. Oklahoma City 102 Miami 98