The San Antonio Spurs defeated Miami 104-87 on Sunday to capture their fifth NBA championship and deny the Heat a third straight title.
Fueled by the disappointment of a seven-game loss to the Heat in last year’s finals, the top-seeded Spurs throttled the two-time defending champions in the final three games to take the best-of-seven title series four games to one.
“We remember what happened last year and how it felt in that locker room, and we used it and built on it and got back here — and it’s amazing,” Spurs center Tim Duncan said. “It makes last year OK.”
Photo: EPA
San Antonio also won titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. With this win they became the first team to win the title after falling in Game 7 of the finals the previous year since the Detroit Pistons in 1989.
Last year, the Spurs lost the last two games of the finals after being up 3-2, leading Game 6 with 28 seconds to go before letting the contest slip through their fingers.
“Last year’s loss was devastating,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “A day didn’t go by where I didn’t think about Game 6. So I think in general for the group to have the fortitude that they showed to get back to this spot speaks volumes about what kind of fiber they have.”
Popovich claimed his fifth ring to equal Pat Riley and John Kundla, and trail just Phil Jackson (11) and Red Auerbach (nine) for the most in history.
“Us having that experience [in Game 6] and going through that loss pushed us even harder this year,” said 22-year-old Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the finals.
Leonard led the Spurs in scoring in the final three blowout wins that followed Miami’s only victory in the series in Game 2.
He had 22 points on Sunday and finished with 10 rebounds in front of a crowd of 18,581 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
“I am just living in the moment right now,” he said. “I didn’t think at all I was about to win the MVP of the finals.”
The Spurs shot just 28 percent from the floor in the first quarter and trailed by 16 at one stage, before turning it around in the second to take a 47-40 lead into halftime. They shot a finals-record 52.7 percent from the field for the series.
“We got a little stagnant at the beginning,” San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili said. “We changed in second quarter; our defense was better. It is hard to believe. We played on a really high level. We had everybody contribute. It wasn’t about Tim Duncan or Tony Parker.”
Argentina’s Ginobili and Australian Patty Mills came off the bench to score 19 and 17 points respectively for the Spurs, who were itching to avenge last year’s defeat.
LeBron James tallied a game-high 31 points and had 10 rebounds, while Chris Bosh scored 13.
“It’s just, it’s just frustrating to be in a series like this and have the last three games, particularly coming out of the first two games,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But you have to tip your hat to that team. They played exquisite basketball this series and in particular these last three games.”
The San Antonio big three of Parker, Ginobili and Duncan have now won four titles together.
Duncan also joined John Salley as the only players to win titles in three decades and is also the first player to win championships 15 years apart with the same team.
Duncan, who has five titles, said this is the most rewarding.
“It is sweeter than any other, whether it be because of the time frame, because I am coming to the end of my career, because I can have these two [Ginobili and Parker] here and really remember it and enjoy the experience,” Duncan said.
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