LeBron James Lifts Miami Heat Past Oklahoma City Thunder
LeBron James bounced back from left leg cramps in the fourth quarter of Tuesday nights NBA finals match up to hit a 3-point tiebreaking shot with 2:54 remaining in the Miami Heat’s 104-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Heat now hold a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
James scored 26 points, grabbed 12 assists and pulled down nine rebounds, only missing his triple-double because he was sitting on the bench towards the end of the game after suffering from leg cramps.
Finishing off the game was Mario Chalmers with 25-points which matched the effort put forth by Dwyane Wade.
The win is a good sign for the Miami Heat, no team in NBA Finals history has blown a 3-1 lead.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were helped along by Westbrook with 43 points while Kevin Durant knocked down 28, however James Harden had another horrible performance, finishing with just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting. Making matters worse Westbrook and Durant were the only Thunder players to known down any points with 16:46 still left on the clock.
After the game Dwayne Wade made a simple statement:
“Whatever it takes. No excuses. You don’t want to leave this arena saying you missed opportunities.”
The biggest help in the game came from Chalmers who was struggling so much in previous games that the Oklahoma City Thunder put Durant on him to avoid further foul trouble, yet he managed to knock down 9 of 15 shots. Chalmers scored more points than he had in the previous three games.
If the Miami Heat win on Friday night they’ll pull off their first NBA championship since LeBron James arrived in town.
