LeBron James and the Miami Heat evened up their season series with the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 4, 2012, with a 98-93 win, giving Oklahoma City only their second two-game losing streak of the season.
The Thunder dominated the Heat the first time they played, and with the exception of a couple of spurts at the end of the game, the Heat dominated this one. With the win, it looks like the MVP debate between James and Kevin Durant is far from being answered.
"Both teams gave everything they had," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. "The (Heat) made some plays towards the end and we fouled them too many times. It was a physical game and I like that. Neither team backed down. It's not a game I can be disappointed with. I am proud of our guys."
The game, specifically the second half, was one of the most intense, hard fought games of the NBA season. Players were pushing, crowding, diving for balls and playing extremely physical throughout the game. Fans booed when Russell Westbrook hit a hard foul on James and cheered when Chris Bosh did the same to James Harden. You would be hard pressed to realize this wasn’t a playoff game.
“It wasn’t?†James joked to the sideline reporter immediately following the game. When ESPN analyst Stephen Smith was signing off, he mentioned that Alonzo Mourning was at the game and said it was obvious who the NBA MVP was.
James led both teams with 34 points while Durant finished with 30 and Westbrook with 28. However, the big stat was the 18 turnovers for the Thunder, nine by Durant himself. It is a problem that has to be worked on before the postseason.
"We did everything that we wanted to do out there except for not turn the ball over," Durant said. "Defense was good, we rebounded well. We passed the ball, we got the ball moving. They got to the lane and put the pressure on our big fellas and got the calls and were making free throws."
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