A limping LeBron James delivered a heroic performance to earn Miami Heat a 104-98 victory over Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Four of the 2012 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena on Tuesday night. The Heat now lead the series 3-1 and stand a win away from their second NBA title. In a dramatic finish to the game, James overcame cramps to his left leg to sink a crucial three-pointer with the scores tied at 94 apiece and two minutes 50 seconds left on the clock. It proved to be a blow the Thunder failed to recover from as Miami went on seal their third straight win.

The mercurial James finished with 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds while Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers each contributed 25 points. But once again, the visitors will be left with much to regret after a strong start to the game which at one point saw Thunder hold a 17-point cushion in the first half. Russell Westbrook led The Thunder's charge right through the night and finished with 43 points which included 20 made field goals from 32 attempts – the most in an NBA game over the last two seasons. Westbrook's teammate, Kevin Durant, had 28 points to show for his efforts in the losing cause.

Miami Heat overcame a 10-point third quarter deficit to beat Oklahoma City Thunder 91-85 in a pulsating Game 3 of the 2012 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena on Sunday night. The narrow win puts the Heat 2-1 ahead in the series. Star forward LeBron James was again in imperious form for Miami as he led the way with 29 points and 14 rebounds with Dwayne Wade also turning in a fine performance with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Kevin Durant finished with 25 points for The Thunder but was fouled out for the second consecutive game and his absence for a period in the third quarter seemed to swing the momentum in favour of the Heat. Even though the 23 year-old Durant returned in the fourth quarter, he was unable to make an impact and could only contribute four points.

The 'Big Three' of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh struck rich form to help the Miami Heat carve out an impressive 100-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 and tie the NBA Finals at one game apiece on Thursday night. The victory, however, did not come easy. After shooting into an early lead (18-2) in the first quarter, the Heat had to quell a determined fight back from the Thunder, for whom Kevin Durant, once again sparkled with his tireless performance.

Durant scored 32 points and came close to tying the scores during the closing seconds, but his shot bounced off the rim and with that vanished Thunder's hopes of taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The action now moves to Miami with Game Three on Sunday, and the Heat will also play hosts to Games Four and Five.

All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook gave standout performances and helped the Oklahoma City Thunder stage a splendid rally to put it across the Miami Heat 105-94 to snatch the opening game in the NBA finals at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Tuesday night.

The Heat, with star forward LeBron James in full flow, built a lead as large as 13 points midway through the second half and kept it in or near double digits most of the period before the Thunder reduced the lead to 54-47 at halftime and then went on to tie the score at 60-all midway through the third.