There was thunder in Chesapeake Arena on Tuesday night with special effects flowing like black gold as Oklahoma City takes game 1 of the NBA Finals, leading the Miami Heat 94-105.
In Q1 the Miami Heat comes out fired up in red with Mario Chalmers # 15 and Shane Battier # 31 hitting 3′s. Dewayne Wade’s jumpers minutes apart add 4 (12-8). Battier hits all net adding 3. Wade falling away with a jumper for 2 (22-13). Wade takes his time to set up and its good (24-13). Wade drives but Kevin Durant # 35 with a wing span of nearly 7 feet blocks then goes to the other end and makes the lay-up in an arena filled with royal blue and neon lighting. (24-15 2:44 Q1). Heat lead Q1 29-22.
Q 2 starts with a few Heat slip and falls. Too much leaning against the opponent’s body without solid grounding. LeBron James goes in for a lay up (31-24). The Thunder makes its 5th turnover. LeBron at the line with a serious look of focus and concentration. (There it is). His team is set up ready for a rebound, but there is no rebound, it’s good (Hoop, there it is) (35-24). LeBron with 18 shots and 11 rebounds, steals then accelerates to the rim with Kevin Durant in hot pursuit. LeBron gains speed and goes sky bound to the rim. Then Chris Bosh # 1 comes with a jumper and drops 2. Derrick Fisher # 37 grabs a rebound and goes coast to coast for 2 (39-28). Q2 is a real show down between the Heat and the Thunder. Chalmers dances with a spin and a drive to the basket for 2, then Durant throws down 2, but Bosh responds with 3 (50-39). Battier’s arm gets tangled up with Russell Westbrook # 0 and gets a double technical (54-47) (Hey, what did he do?). Durant is wide open for 3 (54-50). No contact but the ref calls a foul on Mario Chalmers and sends Thabo Sefolosha # 2 to the line (54-51) (Hey Ref, come on). With the shot clock running down LeBron hits 3 (57-53). Battier goes up on one side of the basket and catches the rebound on the other side then goes to the line for 2 (58-53). Sefolosha # 2 steals Wade’s pass then races to the other end and hits 2 at the line (58-57). Hustling with sweat running down his face, Wade gets his own rebound. The Heat is on but their wide-angle vision is too narrow. (Widen the vision and sharpen the anticipation). The ball is pasing faster than they can see it. Bosh is racing on the heals of Westbrook when he gets tangled up and both go down. At the line Westbrook adds 2 to bring the Thunder within 2 (66-64). Battier hits his 4th 3-pointer (69-64). Wade blocks but Oklahoma City thunders back to score (71-68). Westbrook goes into the paint with 2 and draws a foul, adding 1 to give the Thunder its first lead as Q 3 comes to an end (73-74).
In Q4 mis-timed rebounds give the Thunder a chance to score. The Thunder’s fast passes at the three-point line pulls the Heat’s defense to the edge, while a Thunder sneaks into the paint and adds 2 (73-78). Durant challenges the Heat’s offense and defense. Wade defends Durant body to body still Durant gets the shot. Durant picks the ball away from Bosh then races towards the rim but Battier ties up the ball (77-82 Q4 7:51) the Chesapeake Energy is flowing for the Thunder in Q4 as it pulls off game 1 of the finals.
The Miami Heat, representing the best of the East, is composed of a dynamic trio, including Dewayne Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James, brought together as a result of the work of our own master strategist Dewayne Wade. Three dynamic players in their own right came together, acknowledging that winning would require some giving and some taking; more giving than taking. No longer is it one-on-one basketball. Now, it is more like a golf tournament played using the best ball format, where each of the foursome hits their golf ball, but only the best ball is played. The other three players pick up their golf ball and take it to the position of the best played ball. While only one ball is counted for each stroke, winning happens because each player performs his or her best on every shot; all in the spirit of winning.
What will make the Miami Heat bring that trophy back to Wade’s County is that the Miami Heat uses the Chesapeake Energy to its advantage. Despite the energy flowing in Oklahoma City the fans in Wade’s County know that the dynamic trio and the rest of the Miami Heat can strike a match and set that place on fire.
