Game 2 Recap

If you watched this game and were cheering for the Thunder, I'm sure you were comfortable after the first quarter with the score being 25-12 in favor of the Heat. At least I was, and so were the fans in Chesapeake Energy Arena. It was very, very loud when most crowds would be dead silent. It was as if every time the Heat scored, the crowd got louder, telling their home team "Hey, it's okay. They scored, now it's our turn." Durant and Westbrook got in early foul trouble so Harden was the main scorer in the lineup and did a pretty good job withstanding and countering the punches. It reminded me of the movie 300. And even when LeBron, Wade and Battier (again!) were on their fury of scoring throughout the game, I senses that there was no real threat. Westbrook and Durant would eventually come back, right?

Trying to fire up the crowd even when his team was down.

And that's what happened. The Thunder tried really really hard. They never gave up. In the final minute of the fourth, the Thunder put a full court press and stole the ball. Harden dribbled it down, passed it to Westbrook, and he smartly passed it out for an open three by Kevin Durant. The crowd went crazy, making it a 2 point game. This is OKC basketball. I have to give credit to Coach Scott Brooks for keeping #35 in there when he picked up his fifth foul with about 8 minutes still remaining in the final quarter.

KD telling the crowd to calm down after his a huge three pointer.
 Is there a more humble player in the league?

But the Heat were consistent tonight. LeBron had another excellent Finals game to put to his long list of achievements but what really stuck out to me was his free throw stats: 12-12. After Durant's final three ball, LeBron went to the line and calmly hit both to ensure the win. And he made some when they really mattered. No bricks. He finished with 32 points. Wade was hitting his fadeaways and mid-range jumpers and had 24 points. Battier was a key role player by hitting his open 3's, and even banked one from the center arc as the shot clock was expiring. The Heat bench scored only 8 points, but the starting five really chipped in (well, except Chalmers who had only 3 points). At the end of the game, there was a no-call by the referees as Durant rose up for a short jumper on the baseline which would have changed the whole outcome of the game.

"I got this, I got this." And he did.

On Fire.

Westbrook was 10-26 from the FG and had 27 points, but my general rule is that if the number of attempts is equal (or close) to the number of points, it's not a good shooting night. And so he did not shoot well. To his credit, he had 8 rebounds and 7 assists, on pace for another triple double. It's unfortunate that Nick Collison followed up his amazing game 1 performance with a no-show. I like him on the floor more than Perkins because he's a lot more mobile and quick on his feet. One play I remember was on a Heat's possession, Bosh set a screen for Wade and Perkins was way too slow to react as he was literally staring at Bosh's back while Wade scooped in an easy finger roll.
Game 3 coming up at American Airlines Arena. The Heat stole a home court advantage which is a must if they want to win. Now, the next three games are at in Miami. The Thunder have to steal at least one game, or the Heat can win the championship on their home floor. Which, by the way, I do not like the finals home court format. 2-3-2. Anyone else agree?