LeBron James put up 32 points in Miami's Game 2 victory. (Photo: Keith Allison)
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Miami Heat withstood a late Oklahoma City run to defeat the Thunder 100-96 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night and tie the series at a game a piece. The series now shifts to Miami for Games 3, 4 and 5.
Miami jumped to an early 18-2 lead and led by as many as 17 in the first half. The Thunder trailed 78-67 after three quarters, but mounted a furious rally. Trailing 98-91 with 53 seconds left, Kevin Durant scored a quick lay-up to cut the lead to five. Following a steal, Durant nailed a transition trey to make it a 98-96 Heat lead.
After rebounding a LeBron James miss, the Thunder had the ball down two with under 13 seconds to play. Durant drove baseline, but his shot came up short and Russell Westbrook was unable to follow the miss. James appeared to foul both Durant on the drive and Westbrook on the loose ball, but no foul was called. James was able to corral the rebound and knock down a pair of free throws to ice the Miami victory.
James and Durant each scored 32 points to lead their respective teams. Dwyane Wade added 24 for Miami while Shane Battier was once again stellar adding 17 points on 5-for-7 shooting from downtown. Chris Bosh got the start at center for Miami and finished with 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
In addition to Durant’s 32, Westbrook added 27 points for the Thunder to go with a game-high 7 assists. James Harden, who struggled in Game 1, scored 21 points off the Oklahoma City bench.
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