San Antonio – After last year’s heartbreaking loss, the Spurs were able to redeem themselves by crushing the Miami Heat in game five of the NBA Finals, winning the series four to one. Despite being down by as many as sixteen early on, the Spurs stormed back and defeated the Miami Heat 104 to 87, winning their fifth title since 1999.
“It’s so nice. It’s hard to explain,” said Ginobli. “Last year was a tough one for all of us. We felt like we were touching it, and it slipped away. It was a tough summer. We felt guilty. But we worked hard. We thought every game in the regular season trying to get better to have the same opportunity again.”
Lebron James started the game in “Beast Mode”, scoring seventeen points in the first quarter giving Miami a 29-22 lead heading into the second quarter. But the Spurs would go on a 25-11 run taking a 47-40 lead into halftime, never looking back.
After the game Chris Bosh who made a pretty ambitious statement by saying the Heat would win game five, described the Spurs as playing the “best basketball he had ever seen.” LeBron James shared his exact sentiment.
“I would agree,” said LeBron. “They were the much better team. That’s what team basketball is and that’s how team basketball should be played.”
The Spurs were the better team tonight and throughout this entire series outscoring the Miami Heat by 18 points per game. After the game, Kawhi Leonard, whose father was senselessly murdered six years ago, was named Finals MVP after leading the Spurs with 22 points and 10 rebounds. When asked about how it felt to win his first title and MVP Finals on Father’s Day he said:
“It is a very special meaning for me knowing that he’s gone and I was able to win a championship on Father’s Day.”
With this win, Tim Duncan is now tied at five with Kobe Bryant on the list of active players in the NBA with the most rings, pretty much solidifying his argument as best PF of all time.
With this loss, LeBron James moves to below .500 in the NBA Finals at 2-3. What’s next for the Heat? With so many players, including the Big 3, all having the option to become free agents, this should be a very interesting summer for Miami. There will be a ton of speculation between now and July so I advise everybody to be put your seat belts on.
