Durant's Big Night Leads Thunder to Win over Heat

Originally Published: Jan 16, 2010 9:58 PM CDT

Vitals | Box Score

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder rode a hot shooting night by Kevin Durant to a 98-80 win over the Miami Heat Saturday.

Durant led all scorers with 36 points and went 14-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-3 from beyond the 3-point line.

The Heat (20-19) started with an early lead, but the Thunder (22-18) took the advantage at 13-12 and did not surrender it for the rest of the game. Oklahoma City’s offense started the game hot, shooting 61 percent in the first quarter to the Heat’s 33 percent.

The Thunder finished the first half up 55-45, and Durant took over in the third quarter. He scored 14 points in the quarter, while the entire Heat team scored 22. The Thunder cooled down on the offensive end as the second half continued, but the Heat was unable to overcome its big deficit.

Michael Beasley led the Heat with 28 points, and Dwyane Wade added 24. The Heat struggled from the outside as well as from the free-throw line. Miami went 1-of-9 on 3-pointers and 11-of-20 from the charity stripe.

Jeff Green and James Harden were the only Thunder players other than Durant to score in double digits. Both scored 14 points. Russell Westbrook dished out 11 assists but also committed seven turnovers.

The victory for the Thunder comes after it lost its last two games – to Dallas and San Antonio – by one point each. OKC will start a four-game road trip Monday against the Atlanta Hawks.