James Johnson’s 23 points not enough as Thunder edge Miami Heat

James Johnson‘s Friday night performance wasn’t enough to keep the Miami Heat afloat.

Throughout his entire career, James Johnson has described himself as a “swiss army knife” type of guy, a jack-of-all-trades.

That mentality manifested itself in front of a hostile crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena, as the Miami Heat took on the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night. However, it proved to not be enough.

Johnson scored 23 points and grabbed four rebounds and Goran Dragic tallied 20 points and five assists, as the Heat fell just short, 105-99.

Miami got 14 each from Justise Winslow and Wayne Ellington, but were outscored 41-33 in the fourth quarter as the Thunder came out blazing.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 29 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, followed by a stellar performance from Steven Adams, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds in Hassan Whiteside’s absence.

Miami led by two entering the fourth, going toe-to-toe with the star-studded trio of Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony for three quarters, before the reigning Most Valuable Player imposed his will over the final 12 minutes.

Knocking down six of seven shot attempts and three of four free throws in the fourth quarter, Westbrook recorded 17 points down the stretch while only playing slightly under nine minutes.

"“He’s going to put his fingerprints on the game somehow, some way” head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You just have to find a way to overcome it.”"

The win concluded Miami’s brief winning streak at three games and catapulted Oklahoma City into fourth in the Western Conference standings.

After falling behind by seven early in the period, a Johnson 3-pointer cut the deficit to 92-91 before Westbrook answered back at the other end; a 3 followed by a goaltend that extended the Thunder lead back to six.

The Heat would pull within two during the game’s final minute, but a combination of terrific plays by George and Westbrook proved too much as the Oklahoma City crowd let its presence be known following a sealing free throw with 38.2 seconds left.

"“I thought the team did a great job, giving ourselves a chance on the road,” Dwyane Wade said, “Westbrook went Westbrook in the fourth quarter.”"

The defeat also marked Miami’s tenth loss in their last 11 road games, as the Heat try to keep pace with the bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Now a half-game ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks and a game behind the Washington Wizards, Miami is now in a position that it could potentially fluctuate seedlings with either a win or a loss.

"“I felt the game was played probably a little bit more on or terms than theirs,” Spoelstra said. “Westbrook made big plays down the stretch and they were able to overcome what we were doing.”"

With just nine games remaining in the regular season and hint of encouragement by Wade’s return, the Heat will be in full acceleration mode as the playoffs near.

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