Sports

Heat’s LeBron needs sidekick like Westbrook

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant may or may not be better than LeBron James, but surely the NBA’s scoring champ looks to have the better star sidekick — Russell Westbrook over Miami’s Dwyane Wade.

While the focus has been squarely on the Durant-James battle royale, the finals could be a swift one in Oklahoma City’s favor if Westbrook kicks Wade’s butt as he did in the Thunder’s Game 1 105-94 victory. Game 2 is Thursday night and King James seemed to be crying out Wednesday for Wade to have “one of those games.’’

The two combo guards, Westbrook and Wade, were matched up often and the 23-year-old firebrand made the 30-year-old Wade look 40. Wade conceded before the series the former UCLA guard is the NBA’s most athletic player and, in Game 1, he let him be.

Westbrook got out in transition for 10 points, finished with a near triple double — 27 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds while committing just two turnovers. Once Westbrook got penetration in the second half, it opened things up for Durant’s rampage and 17-point fourth quarter.

Wade, meanwhile, had a sleepy start and finished with 19 points on a dreadful 7-of-19 shooting. He did have eight assists but …

“I mean, I want to score more points,’’ Wade said. “I want to give my team more to give us an opportunity to win the series. I’ll be more aggressive.’’

When asked where he is athletically compared to when he won the NBA championship in 2006, Wade gave an honest assessment. “I was 24. Totally different. Six years ago, man. I’m not that athletic, I’ll tell you that, as I was in ‘06. But I still have something in me. I still have some left in me. I wish it was possible to stay [with] that same athleticism as I was at 24, but that’s not possible.’’

The obstacle to the Miami Dream Team’s boast of winning multiple titles is Wade isn’t getting any younger — another motivation for team president Pat Riley to test Wade’s market value this summer, even if Wade is South Beach’s favorite son.

“One day it’ll happen,’’ Wade said of losing it altogether. “Father time will knock on the door and tap me on the shoulder, but not right now.’’

It had better not be right now because the Heat need him like never before. James, as Batman, needs a rollicking Robin tonight. James played 46 minutes in Game 1 and indicated it’s starting to take a toll. Durant owned the fourth quarter.

Wade has talked about deferring more to James this season. But tonight James wouldn’t mind a Wade throwback. “Absolutely, I tell him a lot,’’ James said. “Sometimes I go to him and tell him I need one of those games from him. I need one of those performances from him because he still has it. He knows he still has it too. But every player needs a little kick every now and then, no matter how time-tested they are. He needs to be DWade and not worry about deferring as much.’’

The series is easy to analyze. Miami simply doesn’t have as many players as Oklahoma City, so the Heat need their Big 3 to be superior in four games. They struck out Tuesday. Chris Bosh was quiet (10 points) and admitted, “I think everyone will say I wasn’t very good. I’ll fix that.’’

And Wade/James needs to be a 1-2 punch that quiets Oklahoma and the NBA’s noisiest crowd tonight. If not, the Heat will face an 0-2 deficit and only one Finals participant — Miami in 2006 — has swept the middle three games at home.

James said his and Wade’s inability to dominate together was an issue last season but no longer. “It’s nowhere near close to last year,’’ James said. “It’s happened maybe a handful of times. It happened a lot last year where he was trying to figure out ways we can help our team and help one another.’’

James said after Tuesday night’s loss more guys have to step up so he can take a breather. Erik Spoelstra played only six guys more than 10 minutes. “It’s a fine line, honestly,’’ James said. “There’s always time where you would like to get a minute here and there. And I’ve got to be more [vocal] with my coaching staff when I feel like I need a minute.’’

*****

Durant still considers his August night in Harlem as one of his career highlights. He poured in a record-setting 66 points in a Rucker League game during the NBA lockout and got mobbed oncourt by fans after some of his late 3-pointers. “Only thing I remember was that everybody ran on the court,” Durant said. “That’s probably one of the best moments I’ve had so far in my life, playing at the mecca of basketball in New York City. It felt like everybody just swarmed me so quickly, man, and it was a fun moment for me and something I’m always going to remember.’’

marc.berman@nypost.com