Durant’s hot shooting pushes Thunder past Heat 98-80 as Wade sets Miami assists record

Durant efficient as Thunder beat Heat 98-80

OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 36 points on the most efficient shooting night of his career and also pulled down 10 rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the road-weary Miami Heat 98-80 on Saturday night.

Durant went 14 for 18 from the field to finish at 77 percent, the highest mark of his three-year career. He made 13 of his first 14 shots, mostly jumpers, as the Thunder got out to a sizzling start and led by double digits throughout the second half.

Michael Beasley matched his career high with 28 points and Dwyane Wade had 24 points and six assists, breaking Tim Hardaway’s career record for the most assists in a Miami uniform. He needed only five in the game to match Hardaway’s total of 2,867 and got there midway through the third quarter after setting up five dunks.

The Heat finished their longest road trip of the season at 3-3 but are hardly done with a brutal stretch on their schedule. They get only a one-game reprieve in Florida before heading back on the road during a period when they play 19 of 24 games on the road.

Jeff Green and James Harden each scored 14 points for the Thunder, who shot 59 percent through three quarters before cooling down after the game was out of reach.

The only miss for Durant among his first 14 shots was a jumper in the first quarter after Russell Westbrook had dumped the ball to him with only a couple seconds left on the shot clock. He didn’t miss again until he was off-target on a jumper from the top of the key at the end of the third quarter.

By then, the Thunder were up 84-67. The lead grew to 20 before Durant and Wade, both among the top 5 scorers in the NBA, exited with about 4 minutes left.

Oklahoma City never relinquished the lead after a 20-6 surge in the first quarter that Durant finished with a three-point play to make it 23-14.

The Heat cut a 16-point deficit in half during the second quarter with the help of a string of Oklahoma City turnovers, the last coming when Westbrook rifled a pass right off of Durant’s face as he stood only a few steps away.

Wade was fouled as he raced to the opposite end of the court and hit both free throws to get Miami within 51-43, but then the Heat returned the favor with an embarrassing moment of their own to trail by 10 at halftime.

Wade attracted a double team as he drove toward the basket, then dished to a wide-open Joel Anthony under the basket. The 6-foot-9 center went up and botched a dunk as he hung on the rim, getting called for basket interference in the process.

NOTES: An autographed Wade jersey and a basketball signed by the Thunder were raffled off to benefit the Haiti earthquake relief efforts. “Obviously, it’s a tragedy,” Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. “It’s just amazing just watching it on television. I like the support that we’re having and hopefully we can continue to do that, and even gather more support throughout our city and give as much as we can.” … Wade passed Glen Rice with his 417th game with 10 or more points with the Heat. He trails only Alonzo Mourning (442). … Prior to this week’s losses to San Antonio and Dallas, the Thunder franchise hadn’t lost back-to-back games by one point since December 2003 against Phoenix and Denver when the team still played in Seattle.