The two year reign of the Miami Heat has come to an end, as the San Antonio Spurs crushed them in Game 5, 104-87, to win their 5th NBA Championship. In fact each of the Spurs’ wins were by at least 15 points, while their only loss was by 2 points.
Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. Leonard started slow in the first 2 games of the Finals, but exploded in the last 3 games to become the 2nd youngest player to ever win the award, with only Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers earning the honor twice, at a younger age. Leonard led the Spurs with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the closing game of the NBA playoffs.
The Spurs winning the championship wasn’t a big surprise, in fact I predicted that they would win, but I thought it would take 7 games, not 5. The decisiveness to which they dominated the NBA Finals was stunning. If they hadn’t missed 4 free throws at the end of Game 2, they may have swept the defending champions. Instead, they took an extra game, and stomped a mud hole in the Heat in all 4 wins.
In Game 5, the Heat actually stormed to an early 22-6 lead, but it didn’t last. By halftime, the Spurs had not only closed the deficit, but had taken a 47-40 lead. Then they kept their foot on the gas pedal, pushing the lead to 19 points by the end of the 3rd quarter. San Antonio ended up outscoring Miami by an average of 14 points per game in the Finals, which is an NBA record. This is a Heat team in their 4th consecutive NBA Finals, winning their 2nd and 3rd trip.
LeBron James once again led the Heat, scoring 31 points and 10 rebounds, but he didn’t have much help. Chris Bosh was next on the Heat, with 13 points. The Spurs had 5 players with at least 14 points. They are the essence of a team, and how the game of basketball should be played.
Head coach Gregg Popovich has coached the Spurs to all 5 of their NBA Championships, and Tim Duncan was with him since their first title back in 1999. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have been Spurs for the last 4 championships. Not bad for this trio that has been talked about as being too old for the past few years. Now I hear the Heat is too old.
Remember what Tim Duncan said after they finished off the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. He said “We have 4 more to win. We’ll do it this time.” I thought to myself, did Duncan just say that? That’s the closest I’ve ever heard him get to trash talking. But he was right. He knew he had the better team. Not the best player, but the best team.
Now all the speculation will begin with who will retire, and who will switch teams. There are rumors that Popovich and Duncan will retire, There’s also the speculation that James will join forces with Carmelo Anthony. But who knows what’s in the cards for these guys? Let’s allow the 2014 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs to celebrate for a little while, even a few days.
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Sports With Frank Thomas
