TV: TNT
- Miami forward Udonis Haslem is out tonight for the Heat with a leg contusion. Shane Battier will start for Haslem. OKC is healthy tonight.
- If Miami’s LeBron James scores 30 or more points tonight he’ll be the first NBA player to go into the All-Star Break with seven straight 30 point games since Wilt Chamberlain in the 1962-63 season. (Elias Sports)
- While James has been shooting the lights out lately (71.7 percent) over the last six games and scoring 31.8 points over that same time his assist numbers have dropped. He’s gone 10 straight games without 10 or more assists, his longest streak without 10+ assists this season.
- Critics of Thunder head coach Scott Brooks have said he needs to play Kendrick Perkins fewer minutes against Miami and go with a smaller more athletic lineup with Nick Collison either starting at center or at power forward and moving Serge Ibaka to center. Asked before the game if he’s thought about changing things up tonight Brooks said, “I haven’t thought one bit about that, we’re sticking with our guys and our starting team has been really good and we’ve been good because everyone’s been good in their role and Nick has been really good in his role (coming off the bench) and I wouldn’t wanna change that.”
- In their head-to-head regular season meetings Kevin Durant has outscored LeBron 27.9 to 27.0 but the Thunder is just 2-8 in those games.
- OKC has won seven straight home games, Miami is 2-2 over the last four road games, “we haven’t been as good on the road as we’d like to be,” Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra said before the game, “but maybe we can change that tonight.”
- The Thunder is coming off a loss last time out to Utah and Oklahoma City is 11-1 this season in bounce-back games and 46-10 in those games over the last three seasons.
– Randy Renner
