Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency
Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant, right, made six of 10 shots in the fourth quarter.

OKLAHOMA CITY — It took patience to endure the 23-win season, the four straight lottery appearances, the long slog through a Western Conference populated with superstars and dynasties. If they learned nothing else these last few years, the Oklahoma City Thunder learned to withstand, to wait, to bide their time and keep pushing until their moment arrived.

Patience was the Thunder’s most valued acquired trait Tuesday night when they made their finals debut. They fell behind by 13 points to the mighty Miami Heat, but they never lost their poise and remembered in the end where to get the ball.
Kevin Durant, the three-time scoring champion, seized control in the critical moments, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Thunder to a 105-94 victory in Game 1.
Durant was steady, smooth and spectacular, finishing with 36 points while outdueling LeBron James, the three-time most valuable player. James finished with 30 points and shot 11 of 24 from the field while a boisterous crowd bathed Durant in “M.V.P.” chants in the final minutes.
Russell Westbrook, after overcoming a rough start, added 27 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds for the Thunder. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points for Miami, which struggled to generate offense against the lengthy, asserting defense of Oklahoma City. The Thunder outscored the Heat by 58-40 in the second half.
The Thunder dominated the Heat inside, and in transition, outscoring them by 56-40 in the paint, by 24-4 in fast-break points.
Game 2 will be played here Thursday night.
“I thought we showed a lot of toughness in that second half in really battling and fighting for every possession,” Thunder Coach Scott Brooks said. “I told the guys there’s a difference between guarding the guy or making the guy feel you. I thought in the second half, they were feeling us.”
This is the Thunder franchise’s first finals appearance since it relocated from Seattle, and the first time any of its young stars have been this close to a championship. The mantra in the past few days has been consistent, however: They would treat every practice, every film session and every minute of the series as if it were just another basketball game.
“Nothing changes on that end,” said Brooks, who is also making his finals debut as a head coach. “Obviously, it’s the finals. It’s not an exhibition game. It’s not any other game. We know that. We understand where we are. But what we do every day is we do the same routine. We focus on improving. We focus on studying what they do, and we put it on the shootaround and then pregame and then going into the game. Nothing changes. It’s basketball.”
Miami led for the first 35 minutes, by as many as 13 points in the second quarter. But the Thunder kept their poise, kept charging and pushed their way to their first lead, 74-73, on Westbrook’s 3-point play late in the third quarter.
Westbrook powered past Udonis Haslem, then pushed a layup through Mike Miller’s foul, whooping to the baseline fans after scoring. His free throw gave Oklahoma City a 74-73 lead with 16.4 seconds left, and gave Westbrook 12 points in the quarter.
The Heat easily controlled the first half, a product of the Thunder’s early turnover troubles and Miami’s hot 3-point shooting. The Thunder survived the early onslaught, found their stride in the second quarter and closed the gap to 54-47 by halftime.
“They keep on coming,” Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Thunder. “They’re relentless. They beat us at their game and beat us in a game that’s very similar to us when we’re playing well.”
Spoelstra kept his rotation tight, using only six players for significant minutes and playing two others sparingly. James played nearly 46 minutes, while Wade and Shane Battier each played 42. Of the bench players, only Chris Bosh (34 minutes) played more than 10 minutes. Spoelstra said he would probably go deeper into the bench in Game 2.
Bosh assumed a bench role in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals after returning from an abdominal injury. The Heat won the last two games of that series, and Spoelstra apparently liked the look. Before tipoff Tuesday, he hinted heavily that Bosh would start, saying that there would be no surprises in his lineup.
Then again, he would not say outright that Bosh would come off the bench. Spoelstra said he withheld the information not for a competitive advantage but to avoid turning the decision into a public debate.
“One of the few times that hopefully we can control a little bit of the noise out there,” Spoelstra explained.
The decision to keep starting Battier over Bosh paid early dividends. Battier, who became Bosh’s replacement during the conference semifinals, promptly hit three 3-pointers as Miami raced to an early double-digit lead. He had 13 points by halftime, second only to James (14).
Durant scored the Thunder’s first 8 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers, but his co-stars had a tougher time finding their rhythm. Westbrook and James Harden combined to miss eight of their first 10 shots. Derek Fisher and Serge Ibaka, who are not normally counted on for scoring, picked up the slack.
After the Heat pushed the lead to 13, Fisher responded with 5 straight transition points — a layup and a 3-pointer. Harden then hit his first 3-pointer, and Ibaka scored 6 straight Thunder points, finishing the half with 10.