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Durant, Thunder pay a visit to star-studded Heat

Mar 16, 2011 - 2:58 PM (Sports Network) - Miami Heat power forward Chris Bosh recently expressed his displeasure about not getting enough touches, so he went out and scored a game-high 30 points in a rout of the NBA-best San Antonio Spurs Monday night.

Bosh aims for an encore performance this evening against the just-as-tough Oklahoma City Thunder in the finale of a six-game homestand. Bosh made 10 of his 16 shots for 30 points and also grabbed a game-best 12 rebounds in a 110-80 demolition of the Spurs from AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James scored 29 and 21 points, respectively, for Miami, which has won three in a row since a five-game slide.

Mario Chalmers was the only other scorer in double figures with 11 points.

"We have to quiet everybody, and quiet the noise out, and continue to work together to get better," said Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.

The Southeast Division-leading Heat gained a measure of revenge versus the Spurs after losing by a 125-95 score earlier this month in the Alamo City. They held the Spurs to 38 percent shooting and are 15-2 this season when holding opposing offenses under 40 percent shooting. Miami, which made 53.8 percent of its attempts, is 3-2 on the residency and 25-9 in south Florida.

Miami, seeded third in the Eastern Conference, is 21-3 when Bosh, Wade and James combine for at least 75 points.

Oklahoma City enters this matchup on a roll as well, having won four straight and seven of eight games, including Monday's 116-89 triumph in Washington behind 32 points from the NBA's leading scorer, Kevin Durant.

Russell Westbrook added 18 points and 12 assists, while Daequan Cook netted 18 points and James Harden 16 for the Thunder, who are 2-1 on a three-game road swing and have won three straight away games.

"This was a good all-around win for us tonight," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. "We moved the ball well on offense, a lot of good passes. Kevin (Durant) and DC (Daequan Cook) shot well but that was because we made good passes to get them open. And the defense was good tonight too."

Brooks was able to unveil new big man Kendrick Perkins, who was acquired from Boston before the trade deadline. Perkins has been bothered by knee issues since last year's NBA Finals and played 20 minutes, posting six points and nine rebounds. He helped the Thunder improve to 10-0 this season when holding the opposition to 90 points or less.

The Northwest Division-leading Thunder are fourth in the Western Conference and 20-14 away from the OKC this season. After tonight's game the Thunder will return home for a six-game residency versus the Bobcats, Raptors, Jazz, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers and Warriors.

Oklahoma City is 20-6 versus the East this season. Meanwhile, Harden is averaging 17.4 ppg since the All-Star break. Wednesday's game will feature two of the best duos in the game, as the Durant-Westbrook tandem currently trails James and Wade by 1.5 points in the race for the NBA's highest scoring combo with 50.2 points per outing.

Miami edged the Thunder, 108-103, on Jan. 30 this season on the road thanks to Eddie House's go-ahead three-pointer with 22.2 seconds remaining. Wade had a team-leading 32 points to go with nine rebounds in that one, lifting Miami to a 10-5 record in the past 15 meetings with the Thunder franchise.