Miami Heat vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Live Score, Highlights and Reaction
Even against a short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder team down four players, the Miami Heat weren’t able to keep up on the road. Fueled by Russell Westbrook’s league-leading 10th triple-double, the Thunder prevailed, 93-75.
Westbrook logged 10 assists before the teams even broke for halftime. He was the primary catalyst behind the Thunder’s second-quarter run that stretched the lead to double-digits before the halftime buzzer, being aggressive and making the right plays without forcing action. His final line was 12 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds.
The key beneficiary of the point guard’s play was Enes Kanter, who finished with 27 points—his most since joining OKC after the trade deadline and two points shy of a career high. Steven Adams helped out, contributing 10 points and 10 boards to go along with a block. Rookie Mitch McGary impressed again with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The Thunder lost another player in the opening minutes, when Andre Roberson hobbled off with an ankle injury. He didn’t return, and with Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison all out for the foreseeable future, it will be a situation to keep an eye on.
Miami struggled shooting all afternoon. They finished with a 39.5 percent field-goal clip, which was actually better than the 33 percent mark they sported going into halftime. Dwyane Wade opened up four-of-four from the field, but shot just 2-of-11 thereafter, finishing with 12 points. Hassan Whiteside was the only other source of offense, putting together 13 points on six shots, but was in foul trouble all game long, fouling out with a few minutes left in the final quarter. Goran Dragic had a rare disappointing outing, shooting just 4-of-10 for 12 points and three assists.
The victory pushes Oklahoma City to 40-30, expanding their cushion to 2.5 games over ninth-place New Orleans. Their next game is Tuesday at home against the lowly Los Angeles Lakers. Miami, now 32-37, remains in seventh place, just a game and a half over eighth-place Boston. They next face Milwaukee on the road, Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.
