Thunder rock Heat
With plenty of good seats still available around the end of the first quarter, the Miami Heat gave some upper-deck fans a rare chance to move into the lower level.
If nothing else, they got a better look at Kevin Durant and the much-improved Oklahoma City Thunder.
Durant had 32 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Russell Westbrook finished with 24 points and seven assists and the Thunder added to their surprising start by beating the Heat 100-87 Tuesday night.
An early 20-1 run put the Thunder in control, and a 14-2 burst in the third quarter helped seal it for Oklahoma City.
“They outplayed us with their athleticism, with their length, with their effort, with their energy, all those areas,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They just brought more of it.”
The Thunder got off to a 6-32 start last year. This season, they’re 6-5.
Jeff Green scored 13 for Oklahoma City, which got 10 points apiece from Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic.
Dwyane Wade had 22 points on 6-of-19 shooting and Daequan Cook scored 14 of his 17 in the fourth quarter for Miami. Jermaine O’Neal collected 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who visit Atlanta Wednesday for the first time since the Hawks beat Miami in Game 7 of last season’s Eastern Conference opening-round series.