"One more victory. One more victory for validation.

Perhaps Thursday at AmericanAirlines Arena in Game 5 of these NBA Finals, when the celebration would be at its most robust, 20,000 believers along for the ride.

Or perhaps in one of this best-of-seven series' final two games, at Chesapeake Energy Arena, if needed.

But the Miami Heat are on the verge of turning those July 2010 promises of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh into reality.

With Tuesday night's 104-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Heat moved to a 3-1 series lead, on a night James fell one rebound shy of his eighth career triple-double, with 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds -- and one nearly costly late-game cramp."