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Heat 110, Thunder 100

OKLAHOMA CITY -- It had all the makings of a classic confrontation. Miami and Oklahoma City, the finalist in last year's NBA Championship, were meeting on Valentine's Day before the All-Star break. It was a dream matchup.

For three quarters, it was anything but as the Heat looked like they were going to cruise to a win. However, the Thunder battled back in the fourth quarter to make a game of it. It just wasn't enough, though, as the Heat won 110-100 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

LeBron James led the charge for Miami (36-15) with 39 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. But his streak of consecutive 30-point games and shooting 60 percent from the field ended at six. James missed his final shot from 3-point range to finish 14 of 24 from the floor for 58 percent.

Chris Bosh added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Dwayne Wade was held to 13 points before fouling out.

Kevin Durant paced Oklahoma City (39-14) with 40 points on 12-for-24 shooting from the field. Russell Westbrook added 26 points and 10 assists.

After being dominated for three quarters, the Thunder struck back in the fourth behind Durant. He found his shooting stroke and helped Oklahoma City close to 11 with four minutes remaining. It began to look like the game fans had expected.

However, each time Oklahoma City got close, James had an answer, including making six straight points to close the game.

Miami swept the season series and has now won six straight games against the Thunder dating to the NBA Finals.

The Heat were on their game early. They had the Thunder running in circles as they tried to keep up with their crisp passing. Miami jumped out to a 28-13 lead.

On consecutive plays, Durant was called for a technical foul and then was undercut going for a rebound and landed awkwardly. After laying on ground for a couple of minutes, he got up and stayed in the game.

The Heat led 32-17 going into the second quarter.

Even with James on the bench to start the second quarter, the Thunder could only get to within 11. It was the Heat's defense that helped Miami separate itself from The Thunder. No matter what Oklahoma City tried to do, Miami had an answer.

Durant didn't make his first field goal of the game until 4:21 left in the second quarter when he hit a 3-pointer falling out of bounds.

James picked up three fouls in final two minutes of the first half. He was called for a technical foul arguing with referee Joey Crawford.

Despite that, Miami led 63-46 at halftime.

For much of the third quarter, the beating continued as Miami stretched its lead to 23 points. But the Thunder cut into the lead and got it down to 16 with less than a minute left in the quarter. But a Shane Battier 3-pointer pushed it back to 88-69 heading into fourth quarter.

NOTES: According to Basketball Reference, Durant leads the NBA in "Win Shares," which quantifies a player's overall impact on his team's winning. He is slightly ahead of James. ... The Heat had taken 48 offensive charges heading into Thursday. Udonis Haslem leads the way with 17 and Battier with 16. James has none. .. Despite making his third All-Star game, Westbrook has had his share of critics this season. That includes TNT analyst Steve Kerr. "I still want to see a more composed version of Russell Westbrook," Kerr said. "I think the internal improvement there really starts with him, both with his offensive efficiency -- there is no reason why he should shoot 41 percent; he's just too good of a player -- and there is just no reason for his tantrums."