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Kevin Durant keeps insisting these NBA Finals are Thunder against Heat, not him against LeBron James.
So far, his side is winning both matchups.
Durant delivered the fourth quarter his counterpart never could last year, scoring 17 of his 36 points and leading a Thunder storm that overwhelmed Miami and gave Oklahoma City a 105-94 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday night.
James and the Heat started well against the young Thunder – who acknowledged some first finals nerves.
They’ve already figured out finishing, Durant showing James how a superstar is supposed to play in the fourth quarter.
“Well, those guys, they came out on fire. They were passing the ball well, knocking down shots. We just wanted to continue to keep playing” – Durant said. “It’s a long game, and every time our coach was just saying play harder, play harder, and that’s what we did.”
Teaming with Russell Westbrook to outscore the Heat in the second half by themselves, Durant struck first in his head-to-head matchup with James, who had seven points in the final quarter and was helpless to stop the league’s three-time scoring champion.
Westbrook turned around a poor shooting start to finish with 27 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Thunder, keying a strong finish to the third period that gave the Thunder the lead for good.

Kevin Durant.

Scared now, Heat fans?
Maybe you should be. Maybe the NBA Finals are as simple as Kevin Durant wrenching the torch as the game’s best from LeBron James. Maybe this series is as clear as Durant taking over when a night searches for someone to take it.
For so long in Game 1 on Tuesday night, the show America came to see was muffled inside the larger show. LeBron was having a nice night. Durant was having a respectable night. No headlines. No fireworks.
But then the fourth quarter began and Durant’s star ascended with it in Oklahoma City’s 105-94 win against the Heat.
Suddenly, he was Jordan. Suddenly, he was Magic. Suddenly, he drove down the lane for a basket, pulled up deep for a 3-point shot, drove for yet another and the big show was on.
He scored (take your pick) eight of the Thunder’s first 12 points of the fourth quarter. Then 13 of their 19. And all along, the blue-shirted crowd that spews noise urged him on, understanding what was happening.
“M-V-P!” they chanted at Durant, just as the Heat crowd does for LeBron, when he went to the foul line as if out of some parallel universe.
The Heat has faced some select talent in its playoff run. Carmelo Anthony was good. Rajon Rondo (stats) was very good. But this is the first time they’ve gone up against a singular talent surrounded by other good players.

Kevin Durant showed LeBron James how to play the fourth quarter in the NBA Finals.
Durant scored 17 of his 36 points in another nightmarish final period for James and his team as host Oklahoma City overwhelmed Miami in the second half for a 105-94 victory in Game 1 on Tuesday night.
“I thought we showed a lot of toughness in that second half in really battling and fighting for every possession” – Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “I told the guys there’s a difference between guarding the guy or making the guy feel you. I thought in the second half, they were feeling us.”
Teaming with Russell Westbrook to outscore the Heat 41-40 in the second half by themselves, Durant struck first in his head-to-head matchup with James, who had seven points in the final quarter and could not stop the three-time scoring champ.
“They didn’t make many mistakes in the fourth quarter” – James said.
Westbrook turned around a poor shooting start to finish with 27 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Thunder, keying a strong finish to the third period that gave the Thunder their first lead after trailing by as many as 13 in the first half. Durant took over from there, scoring in nearly every way possible to finish 12-for-20 from the field and add eight rebounds.
“They keep on coming” – Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Thunder. “They’re relentless. They beat us at their game and beat us in a game that’s very similar to us when we’re playing well.”
James finished with 30 points, his most in any of his 11 Finals games, but had only one basket over the first 8:15 of the fourth quarter. He averaged three points in the fourth quarters of last year’s Finals loss to Dallas.