NBA Finals: Hear the Thunder, feel the Heat

OKLAHOMA CITY - LeBron James is quickly racking up MVP awards while Kevin Durant is collecting scoring titles at the same pace.

Either of them could make a case as the best player in the NBA.

But neither is interested in anything beyond team accomplishments.

One of them is about to get the only crown he craves, their head-to-head duel, the leading story line of the NBA finals that begins Tuesday night (10 a.m. today KST) when Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder host James and the Miami Heat.

“I think it’s going to be a great matchup,’’ Miami’s Dwyane Wade said Monday.

Both insist the series is more than an individual matchup and the All-Star talent around them supports that claim. But the focus will be on James, the three-time MVP in his third shot at a championship, and Durant, the three-time scoring champion playing for his first at age 23.

It’s the first time the MVP and scoring champ have met in the finals since 1997, when Michael Jordan’s Bulls knocked off MVP Karl Malone and Utah.

“Everybody is going to make the most out of the matchup of me versus LeBron, but it’s the Thunder versus the Heat,’’ Durant said. “One guy versus another guy, it’s not going to be a one-on-one matchup to win the series, it’s going to be all about the team.’’

They are friends and workout partners, play the same small forward position and are blessed with unlimited basketball talent. After years of waiting on a James-Kobe Bryant finals matchup that never materialized, the league gets one that’s perhaps even better, if not quite as sexy, to wrap up a successful post-lockout season.

“It’s great for the NBA,’’ Miami’s Shane Battier said. “I anticipate record ratings, which is great, so maybe we can get some of the escrow check back from the owners. First and foremost, that’s why I’m excited to see Kevin Durant versus LeBron James. But selfish reasons aside, it’s a great matchup.”

Both have sworn off Twitter, at least for the time being, James posted his last message on April 27 and Durant on May 1. For now, @KingJames and @KDTrey5 will stick to making their statements on the court.

“Kevin is locked in on what he needs to do to help the team win,’’ Thunder all-star point guard Russell Westbrook said. “It’s going to be a great series for both teams and hopefully we can come out with the win.’’

James is back for a third crack at his first championship. His Cleveland Cavaliers were swept aside by San Antonio in 2007 just a couple of weeks before Durant was drafted by the then-Seattle SuperSonics with the No. 2 pick in the draft.

James fell short again last year in his first season with Miami, then carried the Heat to another chance with victories in the final two games of the Eastern Conference finals against the Celtics, starting with a 45-point, 15-rebound Game 6 in Boston.

“You know, third time in the finals in nine years, there’s a lot of guys who don’t get there once,’’ Wade said.

A disappointment last year in the Heat’s six-game loss to Dallas, James has said he’s in a better frame of mind this season and looking forward to making up for his previous failure.

“I didn’t make enough game-changing plays that I know I’m capable of making and I felt like I let my teammates down,’’ he said.

“I’m happy and I’m humbled that I can actually be back in this position less than 12 months later to do a better job of making more plays, more game-changing plays out on the floor on a bigger stage. So we’ll see what happens.’’

Though their core of Durant, Westbrook, sixth man of the year James Harden and Serge Ibaka are all 23 or younger, the Thunder enter as the favorites in their first finals appearance since moving to Oklahoma City from Seattle in 2008.

With signs backing the Thunder hanging from buildings throughout the city, Oklahoma City has watched Durant grow up from the player who arrived here as the rookie of the year. He received some guidance along the way from James, who reached out to him in high school and then invited him to his home in Akron, Ohio, to work out last summer.

“Our relationship is really good. Our relationship is going to continue to grow and I’m happy to be in this position where I can compete against him.’’
Only one can be considered the best player in the game, and it’s probably the guy who walks out of this series as a champion.

“I think it’s going to bring the best out of both of them, and it’s going to be the best for the game,’’ Wade said, “and it’s going to be a great show.’’

AP