Heat go up 3-1 on Thunder

by Zach Shapiro

Heat take commanding lead in NBA finals after a 104-98 win over the Thunder

June 20, 2012

Miami, FLA – The Miami Heat defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in game 4 Tuesday

night to take a 3-1 lead heading into the last game in Miami.

The Miami Heat rallied from a 17-point deficit in the first quarter with strong play

form LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Mario Chalmers. LeBron once again silenced

his critics with 26 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds. His biggest moment came in

the closing minutes when he hit a game changing three that swung the momentum

all in Miami’s favor. Wade and Chalmers also had big nights, each with 25 points,

and combining for 5 three pointers. Since the free agency frenzy in 2010, LeBron

James and his Miami Heat are now on the brink of their first championship.

However, before we start thinking champions in Miami, they will first have to beat

this proven resilient Thunder team once more. Although the Thunder have tended

to be the deeper team in this post season, it has been them to single out their star

players to do basically everything. While Kevin Durant had a good game, and Russell

Westbrook had an amazing game, it’s been their bench players like James Harden

and Serge Ibaka that have had poor performances this series. Westbrook had an

unbelievable 43 points, but his game was not without flaws. In the final seconds,

there was a miscommunication that led to Westbrook fouling a Miami player too

early sending him to the line to close out the game. While James’ 3 point shot put

the momentum on the Heat, Westbrook’s foul took any momentum away from the

Thunder. They will have to rebound Thursday night to keep the series alive, sending

it back to OKC for the remaining games.

Game 5 will again be in Miami on Thursday night.