OKLAHOMA CITY - When Kevin Durant went to the free-throw line in the fourth quarter the crowd started chanting "M-V-P, M-V-P," a verbal jab at the reigning most valuable player, LeBron James.

At least for one night, the fans had it right.

Durant scored 36 points, including 17 in the final quarter, to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105-94 victory over the Miami Heat in the opening game of the best-of-seven NBA Finals on Tuesday.

James scored 30 points but the Heat forward was outclassed down the stretch by the 6ft-9in (2.06m) Durant, the league's leading scorer for three straight seasons.

A frustrated Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said his club would "just try to keep our bodies in front of him as much as possible" before adding, "that's much easier said than done".

"He (Durant) broke free a few times to get in the paint for some easy ones and some free throws got him going," Spoelstra added. "He's tough enough when he's out behind the three-point line with that size, his length.

"He can get those looks off pretty much clean any time he wants to. But when he gets the easy ones, the basket starts to really grow. And I think he was in a great rhythm tonight."