Heat up 3-1 in NBA 2012 Finals with 104-98 win
The dream of a first-ever Miami Heat homecourt championship celebration remains alive.
In yet another compelling, pulsating bill of fare in these NBA Finals, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade powered the Heat to a 91-85 victory Sunday night over the Oklahoma City Thunder to take a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series.
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"This is competition at its highest. We kept on mentioning that in the fourth quarter," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's what this is about. We're facing great competition.
That the Heat did. Holding on despite another late egregious turnover from Wade. Despite shooting just 33 percent in the second half and .378 overall.
After falling short in last season's Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat dug deeper than perhaps it might have last season.
"You can't always say we have next year," Wade said, "Last year, I don't know if we were experienced enough as a unit to deal with what came at us, and it showed."
Sunday, the Heat dealt with plenty.
"We were able to make enough plays," Spoelstra said.
And make enough foul shots. And grab enough rebounds to compensate for all those missed shots. The Heat closed 31 of 35 from the line, compared to 15 of 24 for the Thunder.
"If we get those opportunities, then step up with confidence," Spoelstra said.
There also was a 48-38 rebounding edge.
"We don't necessarily look at it that we're small," said Spoelstra, who got 14 rebounds from James, 11 from de facto center Chris Bosh and seven from Wade.
To Bosh, the extra push required Sunday came from last season's failure against Dallas.
"We carry that pain with us," he said. "We think about it every day, and that really helps us to succeed in this series."
For his part, James continues to erase the nightmares of last season's Finals failure.
"He's just a total different player," Wade said.
