Geoff JohnsonThe Miami Heat is one win away from getting the job done, and they will try to reach this Thursday in front their fans, when they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at 9 PM ET in game five of the NBA Finals.
The Heat has won their last three games of the series because they have been better in crunch time than their opponent. On Tuesday, Lebron James hit a 3-pointer with 2:51 to play to help his team get the win 104-98.
The commanding 3-1 lead the Heat own seems impossible to lose. The betting trends say teams with a 3-1 lead in the finals are 30-0 winning the title; plus, when you see the way James is playing, and how good Miami becomes with Bosh on the court, you feel sorry for a young OKC team.
Point guard Russell Westbrook had an amazing night with 43 points, but he never got the help he needed from his teammates, especially from Kevin Durant, one of the better players in crunch time, who looked scared in too passive in game four.
“Let me get this straight: What you guys say doesn’t make me happy, doesn’t make me sad, doesn’t do anything,” Westbrook said. “It’s all about my team and us winning a game.”
OKC is the bigger and stronger team, but the Heat has matched them and outplayed them in effort, rebounds and loose balls.
“We’re going to keep fighting,” Durant said. “It’s just frustrating, but we’re going to keep fighting. That’s how we’ve been since I got here.”
The oddsmakers have the Heat -3 favorites to win game five; the game total is set at 193.5.
