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Oklahoma City looks to even things up against the Heat

For the second time this postseason Oklahoma has lost back-to-back games after dropping Game 2 of this best-of-seven series 100-96 as a 5.5-point home favorite only to lose Game 3 by the score of 91-85 as a four-point road underdog. The first time they did this was in the Western Conference Finals when the Thunder lost the first two games of that series before roaring back with four straight wins.

It they are to avoid a dreaded 1-3 hole after Tuesday night’s game, the Thunder will need a complete four-quarter performance from NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant. He only managed to put up 25 points on Sunday night after posting a total of 68 points in the first two games. Another key will be the play of Russell Westbrook. He scored 19 points in Game 3 and shot 44.4 percent from the field, but went just 1-for-4 from three-point range. The Thunder are only 2-7 SU this year when scoring less than 90 points.

Miami made excellent use of the foul line in Game 3; hitting on 88.6 percent of its attempts. This helped to mask a less than stellar effort shooting the ball. The Heat shot just 37.8 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc, but claimed a 45-38 edge in rebounds.

LeBron James led the way on Sunday night with 29 points and 14 rebounds, but Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were both instrumental in securing the win. Wade ended the night with 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists while Bosh chipped-in 10 points and 11 rebounds. James now leads the team in scoring in this series with 91 total points in the first three games, which is still two points less that Durant’s series-leading 93 points.

Prediction

Oklahoma City is still very much in this series but needs to do a much better job at holding leads. It has two more games in Miami, but realizes it just needs one of the next two to set up the final two games of this series at home. Look for the Thunder to lock-down that victory on Tuesday night as Durant is due for a big game. Oklahoma City 103 Miami 99