Thunder Drop National TV Game in Nail-Biter to Heat

The Oklahoma City Thunder were flexed into a TNT stream in their matchup against the Miami Heat. This was the first time since the NBA Bubble that a Thunder game was streamed on national TV. The Thunder ended up losing to the Heat 112-111 in the two teams' second straight close game.

The first quarter went in favor of the Heat 31-26, and they controlled the pace in a way we’ve seen the Thunder do in past games. They threw a 2-3 zone at the Thunder and threw plenty of help at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the lane.

The trend would continue in the second frame, as the Thunder couldn’t pull together a comeback. They finished the quarter down 63-56, despite 15 second quarter points from Gilgeous-Alexander.

This far into the season, the Heat have averaged 21.9 free throw attempts per game, but they shot a perfect 22-of-22 on foul shots in the first half of this game.

For the Thunder, the third quarter was used to chip their way back into the game before eventually regaining the lead. Of course, the Heat finished the quarter with an 89-88 lead, but the Thunder making the game close was the story of the quarter.

The final frame went back and forth with the Heat leading heading into clutch time. The Thunder jumped on a lead early in clutch time, and ultimately held onto that lead for most of the clutch minutes.

With a chance to push the Thunder up to four points, Kenrich Williams missed two free throws, which led to Jimmy Butler getting an and one with 12.9 second remaining in the game. He helped Miami take the lead. The Thunder got a final breath of life with a jump ball call with roughly a second to go in the game. The effort was too little, too late as the Thunder fell to the heat.

For the Heat, they set an NBA record as they shot a perfect 40-of-40 on free throws. This is what kept the Heat in the game to begin with. Free throws were the story of the game. Butler lived at the line for the Heat, which allowed the Heat to maintain a lead for a majority of the game.

This game will act as a learning moment for the Thunder, who will take away discipline from this game and how important it is to a good team.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting, while Giddey picked up his sixth triple-double of his career.

The Thunder lost the season series after dropping both the games to the Heat, both finished within one bucket.

The next bit of action for the Thunder will come against Philadelphia on Jan. 12th.

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