Miami took an early lead thanks in part to hot three-point shooting from Shane Battier (4-6 from long range), and were ahead by as many as 13 points in the first half. But as is becoming their custom, the Thunder charged out of the locker room after the break and dominated.
As is custom whenever Miami loses, LeBron James will take a lot of the... ahem... heat. That may be unfair. James was quiet in the fourth quarter, but he did have a team-high 30 points and nine rebounds. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, on the other hand, were highly ineffective, combining for just 29 points on 11-of-30 shooting.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra made two curious decisions with Bosh, bringing the all-star power forward off the bench and stationing him out at the three-point line for much of the game. Moving Bosh to the perimeter was likely intended to draw one of the Thunder's tough interior defenders - Kendrick Perkins or Serge Ibaka - away from the basket, but the unintended consequence was taking Miami's best (only?) interior scoring threat and turning him into a poor man's Steve Novak.
A key second-half defensive adjustment may have swung the game in the Thunder's favor. Scott Brooks elected to have Thabo Sefolosha cover James for extended periods. OKC's defensive specialist did a very solid job guarding the league MVP. More importantly, Kevin Durant - freed of what may be the toughest defensive assignment in the NBA - started lighting it up on offense.
On second thought, the toughest assignment is probably covering Durant. Spoelstra tried using Battier on the scoring champ, but that was a mismatch, as Durant became the second-youngest player in history to score 36 points in an NBA Finals game.
Brooks also did a good job using his bench, getting quality minutes from both Derek Fisher and Nick Collison. Spoelstra opted to go with a very short rotation of just six players. James, Wade and Battier all played 40-plus minutes and may have been gassed late in the game.
The series continues on Thursday night in Oklahoma City. Tip-off is at 9pm ET.
- NBA Finals: Game One Box Score (ESPN.com)
- Series Schedule and Results
Image: A sea of blue shirts celebrates the Thunder's Game One win as streamers fall from the Chesapeake Energy Center rafters. Courtesy Barbara Crews, collectibles.about.com
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