The first few times the Thunder trailed early in a game and had to mount a comeback, we were all thinking to ourselves that it is okay, and it happens. Now, it has become a trend for the young Thunder team. In the Dallas series, the Thunder trailed by seven with 2 and half minutes to play and won. In Game 6 against San Antonio,Oklahoma City prevailed despite a 18 point deficit. In Game 1, the Thunder came back from 13 down and won the game. Tonight, the Thunder trailed 18-2 to start the game, and couldn’t comeback. Yes, the Thunder did make a run at the end of the fourth quarter, but for a majority of the game, the Thunder trailed by 10. When you are down so much early, it is hard to play catch-up, and that was the story tonight. If the Thunder started the game with more intensity and more ‘will to win’, the Thunder might be up 2-0 in the series. Instead, the Thunder are going to Miami all evened up at one at piece.
The Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 100-96, in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
Miami came out with something to prove, as they
lead, 27-15 after one-quarter of play. Coming into tonight’s game, the Heat wanted to get Wade going early. Wade was extremely active on Westbrook defensively, and got into the lane easily offensively. Just what the Heat wanted. The Thunder shot 5-20 from the field in the first quarter, and were awful at one point. Oklahoma City was down 13-2 in the first few minutes. Westbrook shot 0-5 from the field in the first, and Durant was no better. Westbrook and Durant had two early fouls, which lead them straight to the bench. The only positive aspect for the Thunder in the first was James Harden. He checked into the game, and had an affect right away. Harden had 10 points after one.
Oklahoma City played a little better, but still trailed, 55-43, after the first half. Thunder made it a 8 point game twice, but couldn’t quite keep it there. When Westbrook was on the bench, I almost wanted Scott Brooks to keep him there. He was being harmful to the team. Not helping, only hurting. Eventually, Westbrook entered, and of course, the game went back to downhill for the Thunder. Shane Battier’s three extended the lead back to 13. Durant and Westbrook shot a combined 5-19 from the field in the first half. That needed to improve in order for the Thunder to come back and win Game 2.
The Thunder still trailed the Heat, 78-67 after the third quarter. Usually, this is where the Thunder makes their big run to tie or take the lead. Not tonight. Lebron scored 12 points in this quarter, and made KD pick up his fourth foul. James Harden entered the game with 5 minutes to go in the quarter, but the starters played most of the quarter. Harden had a chance to narrow the lead to 9, but missed two free throws, which was a huge turning point. The Thunder just couldn’t take advantage of opportunities.Oklahoma Cityhad 12 minutes to make a big, big run.
Yes, the Thunder did make it a four point game at one point. But, it wasn’t enough. The fourth quarter was the story of idiotic decisions.Oklahoma Cityput them into position to tie the game, but made stupid decisions. The Thunder got a rebound off of a Wade miss, and Westbrook was pushing the ball, and Chalmers came behind him and stole the ball. There is a pure example of a point in the fourth, where the Thunder had a chance to make it a two point game, but made a dumb turnover that came back and killed them. OKC did have a chance to tie or win the game with 11 seconds to play, but Durant couldn’t convert on a fade-away jumper. The Thunder lost to the Heat, 100-96, in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
I received some mentions on twitter during halftime about the Thunder coming back tonight, and just shock my head. I knew that tonight wouldn’t be that kind of night. The Heat played with too much urgency, to win tonight. The Thunder were caught unexpected, and off guard. I thought coming into tonight the Thunder would play well, because of the nerves being out from Game 1, and the confidence the Thunder have that they can beat Miami. However, I guess that wasn’t the case tonight. Now, the Thunder have will go to Miami for games 3,4&5. Game 3 is Sunday, and the Thunder could use a bounce back type of game.
