The Thunder attempted a comeback in the fourth quarter, and with 37 seconds left in the game, Oklahoma City's Miami won Game 3, 91-85, to go up two games to one in the series.

MVP Magazine is pumping up the new NBA season, with superstar point guard Chris Paul gracing the cover in his Los Angeles Clippers uniform. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith.Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. The East team trailed by 15, much as it had by double digits all night, so it wasn't clear if Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau really was sending James in with legitimate comeback aspirations or maybe to run up mileage on the best player on the Bulls' biggest rival.Eighty-five seconds later, though, the East had closed to within 138-130. Then one with a whole 1:44 to go, courtesy of Deron Williams' steal and layup on an East inbounds that made it 148-147.But the West was able to save the victory with a deserving MVP (Kevin Durant), a frustrated James and the sense that this really had been a sports competition rather than a showy, channel-flipper's alternative to the Oscars.By the final minutes, that honor was going to be either/or: Either Durant if the West held on to win, or James if his spark off the bench late managed to get the East all the way back. NBA.com Staff .

The Thunder jumped to a 33–19 lead by the end the first quarter, but the Heat rallied to cut the score to 49–46 at halftime, thanks to two huge three-pointers by Heat rookie Miami won Game 5, 121–106, to win the series, four games to one.In the United States, the NBA Finals aired on ABC and Of course, with the drama squeezed into the final minutes of the fourth quarter -- let's repeat, the fourth quarter -- the scrutiny on James' performance and decisions at the end was extreme.The Heat star did have the ball in his hands three times near the very end with a chance to win or tie -- and three times he passed it. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Miami won Game 4, 104–98, to go up three games to one in the series. Last week, voters for the NBA’s end-of-season awards -- which include the Kia MVP -- were informed that games after March 11 would not be used in … Site Last Updated: Tuesday, July 7, 2:05PM Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual … Eighty-one percent of Durant's For Durant to be able to knock down over 50 percent of his jump shots while playing alongside gunner Russell Westbrook, who is a shooting guard masked as a point guard, is truly amazing.Not only is Durant scoring at his usual high rate, he is also averaging career highs in assists (3.5), rebounds (8.1), blocks (1.1) and steals (1.5). Bryant is leading the Association is scoring (28.3), is among the league leaders in minutes (38.6 per game), was leading the Lakers in assists before Ramon Sessions was brought in (4.7) and is contributing over five boards a night.Not only has Bryant been a stat-stuffer, he has done all of this while playing every game despite a torn wrist ligament early in the season and a broken nose after the All-Star break.Two points that will put a dent in Bryant's case for MVP consideration are that Kobe's shooting has left much to be desired at times this year and he has gotten All-Star-caliber assistance from Andrew Bynum.

The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat defeating the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC.

1 on the all-time list -- barked at James after that gaffe. Kobe Bryant -- who scored 27 points to push his career All-Star total (271) past Michael Jordan (262) for No. Three with three. Although Love shoots a guard-like 45 percent from the field, his ability to stretch the defense and knock down 38 percent of his three-point attempts (87-of-230) and a spectacular 81.6 percent from the charity stripe is much higher than the typical PF.Love has increased his production of late after rookie sensation Ricky Rubio's season was cut short due to a knee injury.

Miami had a slim 47–46 halftime lead before Oklahoma City began the third quarter with a 10–4 run, eventually building a 10-point lead midway through the period. Most Valuable Player. He has averaged at least 26 points and eight rebounds in every month this season, and he ranks second in the NBA in scoring (27.8 ppg) and has had the Thunder atop the Western Conference standings since the first week of the season.The most amazing thing about Durant's game is that he is putting up exceptional scoring numbers and shoots over 50 percent from the floor primarily as a jump shooter. Love has been a virtual lock for 20-plus points (averaging 26.3 ppg) and 10-plus boards (13.8 rpg) a night while throwing in a couple threes as a 6'10" power forward for good measure. Miami never trailed, building a 27–15 first quarter lead, and holding a 17-point advantage at one point. 2012 NBA All-Star recap. But there is no denying how valuable Bryant's contributions have been to the Lakers' 30-19 record and third-place standing in the West in what was supposed to be a "down year" for L.A.There are two things we can take from the Spurs' 33-14 record: 1) Greg Popovich is one hell of a coach and 2) that the Spurs are now clearly Tony Parker's team.

It began innocuously enough, Miami's LeBron James subbing back in with seven minutes left in what had been a typical NBA All-Star Game (electric in spurts, snoozy for stretches). This season, Love may have replaced Dirk Nowitzki as the most versatile power forward in the game, if not the best overall. Parker leads the Spurs in scoring (19.5) and is seventh in the NBA in assists (8.0).Parker probably has the lowest profile of any candidate on this list, but he gets the job done for the Spurs just as well.