The Miami Heat find themselves up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series against the Oklahoma City Thunder as they won Game 4 by the score of 104-98.
It was not pretty for the Heat early on since they trailed by 14 after the first quarter.
Russell Westbrook was hot going 5-8 and scoring 10. Chris Bosh led the Heat in scoring after the first quarter with 6 points, while LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined to shoot only 3-10 from the floor.
The Heat's four first quarter turnovers led to 9 Oklahoma City points.
This was the only quarter the Thunder were able to win in Game 4. Unlike the Heat's Game 3 performance, the first quarter was not enough in this one.
Miami outscored the Thunder in the second quarter by 11 points. Then they matched the Thunder's 33 first quarter points in their third quarter, while only allowing 26 points.
Heading into the fourth, the Heat were up by four. They had battled back the same way the Thunder had battled in all the games Miami had taken huge leads in.
Mario Chalmers joined in on the fun in Game 4. Both Wade and James finished the third quarter with 10 points and Chalmers chipped in with 7 of his own.
He finished the night with 25 points after only scoring 17 in the first three games combined. With his contributions, Chalmers gave Shane Battier the night off.
The Big Three in Game 4 were Chalmers, Wade and LeBron.
Only two Thunder players showed up on the offensive end in Game 4. Westbrook and Kevin Durant were the only Thunder players in double figures.
James Harden seems to be slowed down by his beard. He only scored 8 points and went 2-10 from the floor.
Coming into the series it was believed that Harden was the difference maker in the series since he was coming off the bench and would provide scoring. That has not been the case however.
Durant gave the game over to Westbrook in the fourth as the Thunder attempted to make a comeback. Well, Westbrook took over. He saw the lane open and made baskests from the paint.
Mental miscues led to the Thunder's demise.
Westbrook played well for 47 minutes. His late fourth quarter foul on Chalmers was unncessary and he admitted to misunderstanding the situation. Then he turned the ball over and the Heat let the clock run down.
Game 5 will be played on Thursday at 9 PM EDT. It will be do or die for the Thunder.
