Miami started off solid in this basketball game, even holding a 16 point lead early on. But that feeling didn't last very long. For the forth time in this series, which all turned out to be Spurs victories, San Antonio erased an early 16-point deficit and routed Miami. Lebron James finished with a double double for the Heat, dropping 31 points to go along with ten rebounds. He had a dominate series, like he always does. What was different between last year's title win and this years win was the supporting cast around Lebron. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, Lebron's two running buddies in Miami, weren't much of a factor at all in game five. Bosh finished with 13 points and Wade just 11 on 4-of-12 shooting for the Heat. There's really no way you can win a basketball game with that low a shooting percentage from your big stars. In fact it wasn't just the stars who didn't show up, it was the rest of the team as well. Nobody else, outside of the big three for the Heat, hit double digits in points. The closest one was Michael Beasley, who dropped nine points coming off the bench.
San Antonio was able to do almost everything right in this series, and in game five. Patty Mills dropped 17 points coming off the bench, including a big three pointer late in the ballgame. Tim Duncan had 14 points, while Tony Parker added in 16 points. Both paled in comparison to the 22 points chipped in by Kawhi Leonard, who also threw in 10 rebounds for a double double of his own. Leonard was outstanding the entire series, hitting big shots when needed, helping power the Spurs offense and, just as important, really shutting down Lebron. Sure there were times when Lebron would make an impact, bu thanks to the brilliant defense of Leonard, he wasn't able to dominate the series like he did last year. With the way he played in the entire series, Kawhi Leonard was named the Finals MVP. He was good in this series. I mean really good. Leonard averaged 17.8 points on 61% shooting. Yes that is indeed MVP worthy.
The end of the basketball game brought out so much emotion and elation from the Spurs. Don't believe meme? Look for yourself:
If your looking at this from the perspective of Miami, there is a little to be positive about. You did make the finals for the fourth year in a row, and the Heat had won 11 straight series, tied for the fifth-longest streak in NBA history. It still has to sting, losing out on a championship. But now you know what holes you have to fix. IN injection of youth and depth would be a good start. I'm sorry but the Spurs dominated in both departments all series long. Miami had a good run, but if they want to get back to the title they have some work to do this offseason.
As for San Antonio, there's a lot to be proud of. It was the Spurs' 12th win by 15 or more points, most ever in a postseason. The Spurs outscored opponents by 214 points in the postseason (ESPN). That right there is a symbol of flat out dominance. For the Spurs, they have won now five NBA titles since 1999, which was Tim Duncan's second year in the league. San Antonio remain the NBA's model organization, a small-market team that simply wins big and hardly ever does it with a high draft pick. Instead, they found players overseas or in other organizations who would fit the Spurs' way of doing things and mesh with the Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, who have teamed for 117 postseason victories.
So congratulations to the San Antonio Spurs on winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy as the 2014 NBA Champions!
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