The Miami Heat had their hands full as they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-97 on Christmas Day at American Airlines Arena. The Heat went a perfect 19-for-19 on free throw shots. Both teams met each other the NBA Finals last season where the Heat won the series in five games. It was their second NBA championship in franchise history.
Miami(19-6) streaked out to an 15-3 lead in the first four minutes of the game. They had a 27-24 lead after one quarter. The Heat extended their margin to eight points at 35-26 with 10:03 left in the first half. Oklahoma City(21-6) cut the deficit down to 54-48 by halftime.
The Thunder went on a 17-7 run to begin the third quarter and were up 65-61 with 4:37 remaining in the period. OKC was behind 74-72 after three quarters. Although they tied the game at 79-79 with 9:32 left, Oklahoma City never led once in the fourth quarter. Miami scored seven straight points to make it 86-79 at 8:15.
The Heat had a 100-87 lead with 15 seconds left on two foul shots by Ray Allen. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook missed consecutive three-point shots as Chris Bosh got the second rebound and was fouled. Allen made a technical foul shot, which a technical was called on Westbrook on his negative reaction toward the play. Bosh followed with two free throws with one second to go for a Heat 103-97 lead.
LeBron James led the way for the Heat with a team-high 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in 42 minutes. Dwyane Wade added 21 points in 38 minutes and Mario Chalmers contributed 20 points in 37 minutes. Bosh returned to the lineup and poured in 16 points.
Durant had 33 points and seven rebounds for the Thunder in 39 minutes while Westbook popped in 21 points with 11 rebounds in 43 minutes. Kevin Martin knocked in 15 points and Serge Ibaka got 15 points.
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