The Oklahoma City Thunder downed the visiting Miami Heat 105-94 Tuesday to take the first game of the National Basketball Association's best-of-seven championship series.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 36 points, 17 of them in the fourth quarter as his team rallied from seven-point halftime deficit. Teammate Russell Westbrook narrowly missed achieving a triple-double , finishing with 27 points, 11 assists and and eight rebounds.

LeBron James led Miami with 30 points, while teammates Dwayne Wade had 19 points and Shane Battier scored 17. The Heat led by as many as 13 points at one point in the first half, but the veteran team, who entered the NBA Finals just two days after beating the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series, steadily fell apart under their younger opponent's athleticism.

Game two of the Finals are set for Thursday in Oklahoma City.