MIAMI — So many times, the Thunder had failed to finish.
It had spent so much of this season seemingly on the brink. It had squandered late leads and let opportunities slip.
But in finally clinching a playoff berth on Monday, Oklahoma City flipped in an instant from uncertain to steady, from head-scratching to Heat-scorching in a 115-93 rout of Miami at AmericanAirlines Arena.
After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first quarter, after missing its first 10 shots, after looking like the disjointed unit it so often has been, the Thunder found a playoff-clinching gear, and it saved it for the very last.