MIAMI, FL. Oklahoma City took their 4-game winning streak into Miami's American Airlines Arena to face the Heat, who after a long drought of wins, were collecting bandwagon riders again with a 3-game winning streak.
Kevin Durant scored 29 points, dunking several times for the fans, including Dwayne Wade's Sidekick.
This was Miami's first time facing the new, tougher Oklahoma City Thunder, who had acquired Kendrick Perkins, along with Nate Robinson, from the Boston Celtics for Jeff Green and Nenad Kristic at the trade deadline. The trade gave the Thunder the tough low post defender and rebounder that they have coveted to complement Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook; it was a move looking forward to playing deep into the playoffs and facing teams like Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.
The Miami Heat have proven very vulnerable to the particular combination that OKC was bringing into Miami on this night, and Miami once again failed to buck the trend.
The Heat have been dominated on the glass by superior teams, and the Thunder brought toughness and rebounding up front. They were able to rotate starters Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka for Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammad, and their frontline helped to contribute to the Thunder's 51 - 40 edge in rebounds (17 - 9 on the offensive boards).
Russell Westbrook was too big, too strong, and too fast for the Miami defenders trying to guard him.
Deron Williams, Baron Davis, NBA MVP leader Derrick Rose, among others have proven that a big strong scoring point guard can give the Heat fits. Oklahoma City also brought a big strong point guard in Russell Westbrook, who finished with 18 points and 5 assists. The Thunder dominated the guard position; Wade scored 21 points on an inefficient 21 shots while also allowing the usually defense-focused Thabo Sefolosha to put up 8 points and 6 rebounds.
Finally, the Thunder were able to focus on the defensive end, holding the big three to 23 points on 40 shots in the second half, and the Heat did not break the 90 mark for the game. The Heat managed a mere 85 points, 16 points below their season average. The Thunder's transition defense kept the Heat fast break in check, winning the fast break stat 18 - 15 for the game.
Dwayne Wade's Sidekick is featured on another poster, this time it's Kevin Durant's poster.
Oh, yes, and a guy named Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, scoring in a multitude of ways on his defender, Lebron James. I suppose tonight was a bad night for Lebron to have "chill time".
MIAMI, FL. Another potential Eastern Conference playoff test, and another fail for DWade, Lebron, and the newly christened, Bosh Spice.
The "STAT" is incredible (pun intended!): The Miami Heat's record is just 1 win and 7 losses against the top 6 teams in the league, and they have not yet faced the NBA leading San Antonio Spurs. Heat fans and staff that believe that this will magically change in the brighter lights of the playoffs is fooling themselves.
Melo put up 29 and 9 vs. Lebron, and defended him to seal the game.
The Knicks are not in the top 6 NBA teams by record. However, the new look New York Knicks, who got a superstar facelift with the addition of Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, may be in the same league now. Without having many chances to practice together since coming together, they got to test their mettle against the presumptive most-talented team in the league in the Miami Heat, and the results helped to justify the midseason blockbuster trade.
Carmelo Anthony had 29 points and 9 rebounds and took on the challenge of guarding Lebron James on the two final chances for the Miami Heat. Dwayne Wade's Sidekick was unable to make a play either time.
Billups lived up to the name, "Mr. Big Shot", as he hit the huge 3 point shot that gave the Knicks the lead in the 4th Quarter after the Knicks trailed by as much as 15 points.
Amare' was solid. Though below his usual production, his 16 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, and 1 block do not adequately reflect the intangibles of leadership and toughness that has been his mark on the 2010-2011 New York Knicks team that has been built around him.
It was Amare' Stoudemire that announced that no one is afraid of the Miami Heat; and then his Knick team beat them in their last meeting, at Madison Square Garden. It should be Lebron and Miami that should be afraid of the Knicks:
There may be different players now, but the results were the same.
Despite falling behind by 15 points, the Knicks' resilience, Billups' big 3 pointer, great clutch free-throw shooting, and the futility of the Lebron-lead Heat offense sealed the 5 point win by the Knicks at Miami.
The Key play of the game was a drive by Dwayne Wade's Sidekick with 12.7 seconds. Carmelo stayed in front of his man, and Amare' Stoudemire came over from the weak side to swat Lebron's shot. Despite his whining and pleas for a foul, the refs stood by their correct call. WITNESS THIS:
Free-throws by Williams increased the lead to 3 points, and Lebron and the Heat would have another chance.
Sidekick got the ball at the top of the key and attempted a 3 pointer to tie, but for the second time in three games, his prayer was not even close. With another failed final shot attempt, I think that Lebron has earned his name "LeBrick".
The week only gets tougher for the Miami Heat: on Thursday, they face division foe, Orlando. And on Friday, they finally play the NBA-leading San Antonio Spurs.
