TWO vastly contrasting teams have just played out one of the most historic and epic finals ever witnessed in the US National Basketball Association (NBA).
The glamorous Miami Heat featuring the most talked-about superstar since Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, assimilated an all-star team also comprising Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh enticed under the promise that the team would bring together the best-of-the-best and were thought to be unbeatable.
On the other side of the court came the San Antonio Spurs. Loved in their small Texan home, they fail to catch the imagination of many Americans, possibly due to their catchment being from international teams (rather than the more typical collegiate draw) or it could simply be that they prefer to shun the limelight, mirroring the understated manner in which they restrict the opposition with organised defence and clinical finishing.
The Spurs contain a league-leading nine foreign imports, having drawn players from Argentina and Brazil through to Australia and France’s Tony Parker, perhaps, thereby, drawing a larger audience globally than they do in the US. However, these players have been loyal to the Spurs. Parker is joined by Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili as three-time championship winners, having won in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
In Tim Duncan, the giant centre from the Virgin Islands, they have a player who joined the Spurs way back in 1997 and has won four titles. Remarkably, victory again would have meant winning a ring in three different decades!
However, they were up against a team that had secured a 27-match winning streak earlier in the season.
Having lost the chance of scaling the previous best of 33 games (set by the famed LA Lakers way back in 1971-72) when they lost to the Chicago Bulls, the Heat appeared to get the jitters throughout the play-offs, having fallen behind in every series they played.
The finals were no different. After Game 5 in Texas, the Spurs held a 3-2 lead before hitting the road. In Game 6 they were seconds away from clinching the title, only to see Miami fight back with a Ray Allen three-pointer with five seconds remaining, forcing the tie into overtime, in the process forcing a decider on home court.
At the time many fans were questioning the ability of the Heat in general – and James, in particular – to deliver in high-pressure situations.
James was heavily criticised for his performance after the Heat lost the 2011 Finals to Dallas. Yet, in securing a come-from-behind 95-88 victory they answered their critics, retaining the title they claimed when beating Oklahoma City, in a match described by NBA Commissioner, David Stern, as “captivating a global audience … in a championship decider for the ages”.
The victory was realised in no small part thanks to James, the four-time league MVP who delivered a performance that secured him a place in history as only the third person to claim a Finals trophy and MVP award in successive seasons, the others being Michael Jordan and Bill Russell. He is only the ninth player to have received multiple awards.
His magnificent 37 points (and 12 rebounds) was the highest individual total in a Finals Game Seven since Jerry West scored 42 points for the LA Lakers 44 years ago.
Devastating jump shots, including four successive three-pointers, combined with a strong work ethic allowed James to secure his points while also snuffing out the threat posed by Parker.
LeBron’s series demonstrated the depth of the individual, showing more than dunks and rebounds. Having failed to score 20 points in each of the first three games of the series he recognised that the Spurs defence had been forcing him backwards and would continue to do so.
Rather than offload to his mis-firing teammates, he started shooting from mid and long-range. It’s a common perception that this is the weakest aspect of his game, although it’s an area he has been working on. Before arriving in Miami after five seasons in Cleveland his shooting percentage from distance was as low as 30 per cent. However, hard work in the off-season has seen that rise to over 50 per cent.
The final three games helped James improve his average to 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and seven assists per game.
While Miami unbelievably only had five scorers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, they are more than a one-man team. Dwayne Wade finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds and joins Udonis Haslem as the only other member of the Heat roster to have been on all three of Miami’s championship teams.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich conceded the Heat were worthy champions. “It’s no fun to lose, but we lost to a better team,” he said. “You can live with that as long as you’ve given your best. And I think we have.”
Tim Duncan led in scoring for the Spurs with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
