LeBron James and Dwyane Wade lead Heat over Thunder

Oklahoma City nearly fought back from a 17-point deficit, but it wasn’t enough to stop LeBron James and the Heat from evening the series. The Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder by a score of 100-96 to even the series at one game a piece heading into the next two games at Miami.

James scored 32 points, dished out five assists, grabbed eight rebounds, and hit two clutch free throws with seven seconds left in the game to seal the victory for the Heat. Dwyane Wade scored 26 points with five assists and six rebounds. The Heat started off hot and never fizzled maintaining the lead throughout the game. Chris Bosh returned to the starting line-up and put up solid numbers, scoring 16 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.

James had previously asked for help; Wade and Bosh answered. This is the trio the Heat envision when being referred to as having the "Big Three."  With the win, Miami snapped a four-game finals losing streak with their first win since Game 3 against Dallas in 2011 NBA Finals.

This was the first home loss in 10 postseason games for the Thunder, who rebounded from a 13-point deficit to win the first game of the series. Slow starts are becoming the trend for the Thunder in the playoffs.

With the help of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Thunder almost pulled off another comeback win, closing the gap to within two points with less than 10 seconds left in the game. Durant put up 32 points, but he missed a shot from the baseline that could have tied the game in the final seconds. Questionable contact between James and Durant during the play could have lead to a foul, but no such call was made. Westbrook added 27 points with seven assists and eight rebounds for the Thunder in the loss.

Both teams are heading to South Beach as Miami hosts Game 3 of the NBA Finals Sunday, June 17 at 8 p.m. ET.