The Oklahoma City Thunder trailed the Miami Heat by as many as 18 points in the first half before going on multiple big runs to cut the halftime deficit to 66-62.
The game Tuesday off did guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander well. He had an excellent half, scoring 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. Ten of his points came in the final four minutes.
Point guard Chris Paul had 10 points to go with three rebounds and two assists.
Abdel Nader provided a spark off the bench. After Lu Dort exited the game due to a knee injury, Nader scored eight points, including two 3-pointers, as his replacement.
The first half was truly a game of runs. When Dort left at the 4:27 mark, Oklahoma City trailed 24-18.
Two minutes and 17 second later, they trailed 38-20. Heat forward Duncan Robinson made back-to-back four-point plays during this stretch to kick-start Miami.
The Thunder could not stop Robinson, who made five 3-pointers in the half and finished with 19 points.
Miami’s 42 first-quarter points tied the most the Thunder had given up all season.
Oklahoma City managed to catch up though, going on a 14-0 run to make it a four-point game with 8:19 to go in the second quarter.
Nader scored all eight of his points during this stretch.
However, the Heat pulled back ahead, going up 60-47 with 4:14 to go.
Then Gilgeous-Alexander got hot. He made a 3, assisted an Andre Roberson 3 on the next possession, got to the free throw line the next time down the court and then made a layup.
Over those four possessions, the Thunder cut the deficit to 60-56. There was still 2:30 to go in the half.
Over the next minute and 15 seconds, Miami pulled ahead 66-59, but Gilgeous-Alexander had one more 3-pointer in him to make it a four-point game at the half.
The Thunder will look to stay hot in the second half and limit Miami’s runs. They are half a game above the Utah Jazz for the fifth spot in the Western Conference, and half game below the Houston Rockets.
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