Miami Heat defeats Thunder, 104-98, in NBA Game 4

In an implausible sequence spanning only a few minutes, LeBron James went from being carried off the court to carrying his team.

And now the Miami Heat finds itself one victory from hoisting a championship trophy.

Shrugging off a leg injury that forced him to depart Game 4 of the NBA Finals midway through the fourth quarter, James returned to make the three-pointer that put the Heat ahead in an eventual 104-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Miami holds a 3-1 advantage in a best-of-seven series it can close out here Thursday night in Game 5.

There was already a party atmosphere in South Beach after James made the go-ahead three-pointer with 2 minutes 50 seconds left, providing the Heat a 97-94 lead.

James nearly finished with a triple-double, collecting 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in 44 sublime minutes.

But James remained in such discomfort that he limped to the timeout huddle with 55 seconds left and stayed on the bench as Mario Chalmers drove for a scoop layup that gave the Heat a 101-96 cushion with 44 seconds to go.

Russell Westbrook, a game-long menace to Miami, made a driving layup to bring the Thunder to within 101-98 with 44 seconds left, but a subsequent jump ball ended up in the hands of Chalmers, who made two free throws to secure the Heat's third consecutive triumph in the series.

Westbrook finished with 43 points on 20-for-32 shooting. He scored 11 consecutive points for the Thunder to start the fourth quarter amid an array of driving layups, floaters and pull-up jumpers.

It wasn't enough.

Dwyane Wade and Chalmers had 25 points apiece for Miami, more than offsetting Kevin Durant's 28 points for Oklahoma City.

James suffered his injury when he drove toward the basket and fell with 5:48 left. He rose and started to run gingerly back down the court before Wade blocked Derek Fisher's layup, triggering a possession that ended in a short jumper by James.

But James could not gut it out for long, having to be carried off the court with 5:15 remaining. He kneeled on a pad along the baseline and was replaced by James Jones.

The crowd roared shortly thereafter as James walked to the scorer's table to check back into the game with 4:05 to go and the Heat trailing, 94-92.

It was difficult to recall that Miami had trailed by as many as 17 points in the first quarter the way things veered sharply in its favor in the second.

The Heat made four three-pointers in the quarter and persevered through a frightening moment when Wade appeared to hurt his back.

Wade fell awkwardly after having his shot blocked by Serge Ibaka with 7 minutes 18 seconds before halftime. He crouched in anguish for several moments, holding his back, before dropping to his knees in along the baseline. He would stay in the game.

Heat 79, Thunder 75 (end of third quarter)

Miami could be 12 minutes from taking a commanding lead in the NBA Finals.

The Heat also could be that far away from another Game 4 meltdown.

By: Ben Bolch
Los Angeles Times