Vitals: Heat at Thunder

Everything you need to know about when Dwyand Wade and the Heat come to town.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:26 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jan 16, 2010 6:24 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Miami Heat (20-18) at Oklahoma City Thunder (21-18)
Saturday, January 16, 2010, 7:00 p.m. CST.
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Game 40 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

	Heat	Thunder
PG	Rafer Alston 9.5 PPG, 3.7 APG	Russell Westbrook 16.5 PPG, 7.3 APG
SG	Dwyane Wade 27.1 PPG, 6.3 APG	Thabo Sefolosha 6.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG
SF	Quentin Richardson 8.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG	Kevin Durant 28.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG
PF	Michael Beasley 16.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG	Jeff Green 14.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG
C	Jermaine O'Neal 12.6 PPG, 7.0 RPG	Nenad Krstic 8.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG

Injuries
Oklahoma City: G/F, Kyle Weaver (shoulder, out); G, Kevin Ollie (knee, day-to-day).
Miami: None Reported

Where to find it?
On TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma
On Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know?
The game against Dallas was just more heartbreak for the Thunder. It was yet another one-point loss that it gave up a late lead. Against the Mavericks, after taking a 55-48 lead into halftime, Oklahoma City shot an abysmal 29.4 percent in the third quarter.

It’s been up-and-down for Miami all season; their longest win streak is three games. If they can beat the Thunder tonight, the Heat can tie that streak. It’s been the offense that leads the club, scoring 90 or more points in all but one of their wins this season. Miami is closing out a five-game road stretch and have won their last two games.

Who to watch?
Whenever Miami takes the floor it’s easy to know who to watch, the man they call Flash, Dwyane Wade. He has the size of a small forward, the speed of a point guard and is one of the very few players in the league that can knock down any shot he wants on any given night. The matchup of the night, however, is second-year guard Michael Beasley against Jeff Green.

Despite scoring 30 points against Dallas, Kevin Durant has a poor shooting performance, only hitting 6-18 from the floor. He has to shoot a higher percentage if Oklahoma City wants to get back to its winning ways. Thabo Sefolosha has the toughest task of the night, trying to defend the dynamic Wade.