Thunder take down turnover-prone Heat

OKLAHOMA CITY – With his All-Star point guard on the bench with three early fouls, two-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant took it upon himself to keep the Oklahoma City Thunder rolling.After he did, even the mighty Miami Heat never could recover.Durant had 28 points, nine rebounds and tied his season-high with eight assists, Kendrick Perkins added a season-best 16 points and the Thunder opened a difficult stretch in their schedule by beating Miami 103-87 on Sunday night.The two title contenders opened the day tied for the second-best record in the NBA, three games behind the Chicago Bulls in the race for the top overall seed in the playoffs.West-leading Oklahoma City edged ahead into second, with the rematch 10 days away in Miami. “I think it was a good test for us,” said Perkins, who has set new season scoring highs in two straight games.Oklahoma City had a season-high 13 steals and forced Miami into 21 turnovers that led to 28 Thunder points. Miami’s big three—LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh—combined for 15 of the giveaways.Wade led Miami with 22 points but also committed a season-worst six turnovers. Bosh had 18 points and five turnovers, and James ended up with 17 points, seven assists and four turnovers.

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Thunder take down turnover-prone Heat