Thunder vs. Heat Game 3: What OKC Must Do to Recover from Tough Defeat

The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the 2012 NBA Finals on Sunday night. OKC has to even things up on Tuesday night in Game 4 or it runs the high risk of being eliminated before getting a chance to return the series to its home floor.

Let’s take a look at some fundamental things the Thunder must work on to avoid being swept in South Beach and bring this series back home for at least a Game 6.

Hit Free Throws

It’s not often a team is perfect on free throws, but the Thunder would have won this game had they been able to knock down all 24 of their attempts.

Of course, the league’s leading team somehow managed to miss nine of them and that made a huge difference in the 91-85 outcome of the contest.

Rebound

The Heat outrebounded the Thunder 45-38 and also grabbed three more offensive boards in the game. LeBron James had a game high of 14 and coach Scott Brooks needs to make it a priority for his team to get a body on the league MVP every time a shot goes up.

With Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka on the floor, OKC has no excuse not to be cleaning up the glass and leading Miami in this crucial category.

Avoid Foul Trouble

Kevin Durant is a magnet for whistles during these Finals. It’s rare that you see a superstar get hit with as many questionable 50-50 calls as this young man is dealing with from the refs—especially in the postseason.

KD had five fouls last night and had to hit the bench for key stretches of the game that allowed Miami to mount a significant lead.

OKC has to keep its stars on the floor for as long as possible; it must be unafraid to foul in the clutch.

If the Thunder can do these three things well from here on out, they will have a great shot at winning Game 4 and the rest of the series.