The Miami Heat bounced back in the NBA Finals with a 100-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in game two on Thursday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Heat led the game the entire 48 minutes of play. The series now is tied at 1-1 with game three on Sunday night at American Airlines Arena in Miami.
LeBron James, who entered the game tied with the worst winning percentage for a player in NBA Finals history at 2-9, finished with 32 points for the Heat. Dwyane Wade had 24 points along with Chris Bosh 16 points and 15 rebounds in the winning effort. Kevin Durant poured in 32 points and Russell Westbrook downed 27 points for the Thunder.
Durant, playing with five fouls in the final 11 minutes of the game, closed the gap to 98-96 on a three-pointer with 0:37 to go in the fourth quarter. James put in two foul shots with seven seconds left to clinch the win.
Miami dominated the first quarter as they began with an 18-2 run in the first 7:10 of the game. The Heat held a 17-point lead at 25-8 with 2:39 left in the quarter. They led 27-15 after one quarter as James and Wade combined for 15 points to equal Oklahoma City's output.
The Thunder was able to get deficit down to below double digits at 35-27 with 7:22 remaining in the first half. Miami took the gap back up to 17 points at 51-34 with 2:10 left and led 55-43 at halftime. James had 14 points in the first half and Wade added 13 for the Heat while James Harden put up 17 points for OKC.
With the exception of a 22-second stretch late in the third quarter, Miami had a double-digit lead throughout the frame and were up 78-67 after three. James nailed 12 points in the third.
Oklahoma City began the fourth quarter on a 9-4 spurt to cut the lead down to six points at 82-76 with 7:45 to go. Miami's lead slipped down to three points at 94-91 with 1:47 left.
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