Sports Extra - Blogs - Just call it mustwin Tuesday or why the 2012 NBA Finals feel like 2006 all over again

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Just call it must-win Tuesday... or why the 2012 NBA Finals feel like 2006 all over again
Published: 6/19/2012 6:53 PM
Last Modified: 6/19/2012 6:53 PM

Don't let anyone tell you any differently. Tonight is a must win for Oklahoma City.

See, I've mastered the obvious. So sue me.

After a tough fourth-quarter fade in Game 3, OKC and Miami meet again in a few hours.

Unfortunately for the Thunder, this series feels a lot like Miami's last NBA title in 2006. Dallas looked like the best team in that series all the way up until NBA commissioner David Stern handed the trophy to the Heat.

Dallas won the first two games, then led by 13 midway through the fourth quarter of Game 3 before losing 98-96. The Mavericks had a five-point lead in the final two minutes of Game 5 before dropping a 101-100 overtime decision.

And in Game 6, Dallas held a 14-point first-quarter lead and an 11-point second-quarter advantage before fading down the stretch to lose the series.

In college football, they call it the eye test. And to my eye, Oklahoma City looks like the better team in this NBA Finals. The Thunder pulled away in Game 1, made a near miraculous comeback in Game 2 and was firmly in control of Game 3 midway through the third quarter.

And the end result? A 2-1 hole that will look suspiciously like "Heat in five" if the Thunder can't find a way to win Game 4 tonight.

My gut tells me the Thunder will figure it out in Game 4 and guarantee at least one more game in OKC. But I'm still waiting for the Mavericks to hoist the 2006 NBA title trophy, too.

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212352 (8 months ago)

DWade with 25 + free throws per game in '06 did not hurt.

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Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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