John Riordan
Tuesday was the 21st anniversary of Michael Jordan's first ever NBA title. It was 21 years to the day since he and the Chicago Bulls ushered in a new era of dominance with a 4-1 series victory over Magic Johnson and the LA Lakers.
This year's NBA Finals will churn out a similar legacy as two of this current era's greatest players seek their first title and a springboard for dominance. It was Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder who struck first blood with a huge fourth quarter in his first ever finals appearance as his star opponent LeBron James faded along with the Miami Heat to succumb to a 105-94 defeat.
James is involved on the biggest stage for the third time in his career and after promising a multiple of titles when he signed in Miami in 2010, the pressure is on to get that process up and running. But it was the younger Durant who confirmed pre-game expectations with an immense performance.
"We're just trying to take it a possession at a time," said the 23-year-old star player. "This is a tough series. This level of basketball is the hardest we've played. The guys have just got to keep believing in themselves. If we continue to do that we'll be alright. It took a couple of minutes to get the nervousness out. Next game we have got to start better."
Durant finished with 36 points and eight rebounds, after the home team's sluggish start allowed the Heat lead throughout most of the first three quarters.
But tellingly, a rousing dunk from Durant and another confidence-building score from the excellent Russell Westbrook (who finished with 27 points) at the stroke of half-time kept the Miami lead down to seven and ignited the home crowd.
The Heat kept the pressure on in the third quarter, James moving on to 23 points but he only scored seven in the fourth quarter, adding to question marks over his ability to finish out games.
"They made shots and we missed shots," said James afterwards. "I don't think they made many mistakes in the fourth quarter. I don't think we did either it's just that they made more plays. [We need] to shoot with more confidence."
Durant went the other direction, his 17 points added to a further six by Westbrook, twisting the knife on a clueless Miami after Westbrook had the home team in front for the first time at the end of the third quarter.
"He's a special player because he defends," said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. "I like what Kevin is about. He is not easy to guard."
"We thought we were in a position to win and then they just went away," admitted his opposite number Erik Spoelstra. "That's what they do. They're relentless. They beat us at their game. We'll regroup and get ready for the next one."
Game Two takes place in Oklahoma City just after 2am Irish time in the early hours of Friday morning.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/DqV5KfMTTBE/post.aspx
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