2012 NBA Finals Review
BY BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Thursday, February 14, 2013
2/14/13 at 7:10 AM
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After Oklahoma City rallied from a two-games-to-none deficit,
eliminating the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals,
the Thunder advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals and a clash with the
Miami Heat. A review of the five-game series:
GAME 1
June 12: Chesapeake Energy
Arena, OKC
Thunder 105, Heat 94
With 17 fourth-quarter points,
Kevin Durant finished with 36.
For the 11th time in 16 playoff
games, Oklahoma City scored
at least 100 points. The Thunder
rallied from a 13-point, secondquarter
deficit. Miami’s Le-Bron
James, Dwyane Wade and Chris
Bosh scored a combined total of
59 points.
GAME 2
June 14: Chesapeake Energy
Arena, OKC
Heat 100, Thunder 96
Less than seven minutes into
Game 2, Oklahoma City trailed
18-2. When Kevin Durant was
unable to convert on a late
baseline shot, the Thunder was
dealt its first home playoff loss of
the year. LeBron James scored 32
points while Dwyane Wade had a
24-point, six-rebound, five-assist
performance. Heat role player
Shane Battier was 5-of-7 on
3-pointers and scored 17 points.
GAME 3
June 17: American Airlines Arena,
Miami
Heat 91, Thunder 85
Midway through the third
period, Miami’s crowd of 20,003
watched the Thunder surge to
a 10-point lead. With less than
eight minutes left to play, OKC
had a 77-76 advantage. During
the final 90 seconds, the Thunder
was scoreless while Miami
converted on five free throws.
Miami prevailed in spite of 38
percent shooting from the field.
Through the first three rounds
of the playoffs, OKC connected
on 84 percent of its free throws.
In Game 3, OKC misfired on
nine foul shots. Through three
NBA Finals games, the Thunder
was 54-of-77 for 70 percent. In
Game 3, OKC sixth man James
Harden scored nine points on
2-of-10 shooting.
GAME 4
June 19: American Airlines Arena,
Miami
Heat 104, Thunder 98
OKC’s Russell Westbrook
was fantastic, scoring 43 points
on 20-of-32 shooting from the
field. He committed only three
turnovers — and he committed
one extremely costly foul. With
13.8 seconds remaining and the
Thunder trailing by three points,
Westbrook fouled Miami’s
Mario Chalmers when only a
couple of seconds were left on
the shot clock. Instead of forcing
Chalmers to try a contested
shot, Westbrook sent the former
Kansas Jayhawk star to the foul
line. Chalmers converted on both
free throws. The Heat had taken
a three-games-to-one advantage
in the series.
GAME 5
June 21: American Airlines Arena,
Miami
Heat 121, Thunder 106
With 10:13 left in the third
period, Oklahoma City trailed
by only 61-56. By the end of the
third period, the deficit was 24
points (95-71). The Thunder
was finished. After having been
the regular-season MVP, LeBron
James was voted the Finals MVP.
In Game 5, he had a 26-point,
11-rebound, 13-assist tripledouble.
The Heat celebrated its
second title since 2006. “It’s
unfortunate we couldn’t handle
all the things that they were
throwing at us, but they beat us.
They beat us fair and square,”
OKC coach Scott Brooks said.
“They were the better team
in this series, and like I told
the guys, there’s nothing to be
ashamed of.”
Durant’s quest
Thunder forward Kevin Durant is attempting
to become only the third player in NBA history
to lead the league in scoring in as many as four
consecutive seasons. Michael Jordan and Wilt
Chamberlain each had a run of seven consecutive
scoring titles – Jordan in 1986-87 through
1992-93, and Chamberlain in 1959-60 through
1965-66.
As NBA All-Star weekend approaches, a look
at how Durant and teammate Russell Westbrook
stand in the current scoring race:
Kevin Durant, OKC: 29.0 average.
Carmelo Anthony, New York: 29.0.
LeBron James, Miami: 27.1.
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers: 27.0.
James Harden, Houston: 26.1.
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland: 23.9.
Russell Westbrook, OKC: 22.5.
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland: 21.2.
Dwyane Wade, Miami: 21.1.
Stephen Curry, Golden State: 21.0.
Thunder players among stat leaders
Free throw percentage
Stephen Curry, Golden State: .907.
Kevin Durant, OKC: .904.
Kevin Martin, OKC: .902.
Darren Collison, Dallas: .898.
J.J. Redick, Orlando: .893.
Assists
Rajon Rondo, Boston: 11.1 per game.
Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers: 9.5.
Greivis Vasquez, New Orleans: 9.4.
Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia: 8.8.
Russell Westbrook, OKC: 8.1.
Blocked shots
Larry Sanders, Milwaukee: 3.16 per game.
Serge Ibaka, OKC: 2.90.
Tim Duncan, San Antonio: 2.70.
Roy Hibbert, Indiana: 2.67.
Dwight Howard, 2.37.
Steals
Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers: 2.60 per game.
Mike Conley, Memphis: 2.25.
Russell Westbrook, OKC: 2.00.
Jeremy Lin, Houston: 1.94.
Monta Ellis, Milwaukee: 1.90.
