Heat Can't Contain Paul George In 118-102 Loss To Thunder
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MIAMI (AP) — Paul George scored 43 points and had a career-high 10 3-pointers, Dennis Schroder scored 24 of his 28 points in the second quarter and the Oklahoma City Thunder extended the NBA's longest current winning streak to seven games by beating the Miami Heat 118-102 on Friday night.
Russell Westbrook got his fifth straight triple-double and 18th of the season, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists. Steven Adams added 13 for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City beat Miami for the sixth straight time, and became the second team to have two separate winning streaks of at least seven games this season. Golden State is the other, with streaks of 11 and eight games.
Kelly Olynyk scored 21 for Miami, which fell to the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. Josh Richardson scored 18 and Hassan Whiteside finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat.
Heat guard Dwyane Wade was announced as an All-Star earlier in the day for the 13th time, after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver decided Wade and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki merited becoming special additions to the player pool for the Feb. 17 game in Charlotte. Fans roared when Wade entered the game for the first time and was introduced as an All-Star.
They didn't have much else to yell about, at least in a positive light.
George finished 14 of 23 from the field and 10 for 16 from 3-point range — setting a franchise record for 3s in a game. He had 16 points in the first quarter to get the Thunder going and 12 more in the fourth to finish things off.
Schroder went 9 for 9 in the second quarter, matching the best shooting performance any NBA player has had in a quarter since Klay Thompson's 13-for-13 for Golden State against Chicago on Jan. 13, 2015. It also was the most points ever scored against the Heat in a second quarter, helping stake Oklahoma City to a 72-53 lead at the break.
Through the first 22 minutes, Schroder and George alone combined to outscore the Heat 45-43. And Miami never got closer than 15 in the second half.
TIP-INS
Thunder: Schroder's 24-point quarter wasn't even an Oklahoma City one-quarter high for the season — George had 25 in a fourth-quarter rally over Brooklyn in December. ... Westbrook had eight assists in the first quarter alone. There have been 11 instances this season of a player having that many assists in a quarter, and Westbrook is responsible for three of them.
Heat: Whiteside's double-double was his 100th inside AmericanAirlines Arena, more than any player. ... One of the biggest roars of the night came after the third-quarter buzzer, when Bam Adebayo banked in a 90-footer. It didn't count. ... With his second basket of the night and the 8,242nd of his career, Wade passed Reggie Miller for 32nd on the NBA's all-time list.
WESTBROOK REACTION
Not that it was a shock he made the team, but Westbrook said he was still pleased to be selected as an All-Star. He got in as a reserve, picked by the league's coaches. "It's a blessing," Westbrook said. "Definitely an experience you don't take for granted."
HOME WOES
The Heat fell to 11-15 at home, matching their total home losses from the entire 2017-18 season. Miami has dropped three straight at home, all by double digits — its second such streak this season alone.
UP NEXT
Thunder: Visit Boston on Sunday, the Celtics' 11th consecutive year playing at home on Super Bowl Sunday.
Heat: Host Indiana on Saturday, wrapping up the 21st home-home back-to-back in team history.
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