San Antonio Spurs revived themselves of twelve months ago wounds by claiming their first NBA championship since 2007 with a crushing win over Miami Heat.
It was elegant as the Spurs recovered from a great start to win 104-87 in a clinical, yet feverish, display that underlined their superiority and dethroned the reigning NBA champions, denying Miami their third title in three years.
What was shaping a week ago to be the second successive, evenly balanced and see-saw NBA finals between these teams instead proved shockingly one-sided, as Miami were squelched for the third time in six days and lost the best-of-seven series by four games to one.
How quickly the storyline has mutated from talk of a Heat ‘three-peat’ to now-inevitable questions about whether this defeat marks the end of an era.
Miami’s Big Three, LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, all have contract opt-out clauses and could leave, remote as the possibility seems.
After Miami levelled the series at 1-1 following a close game here seven days prior, San Antonio eviscerated them twice in south Florida, producing purple patches to expose the Heat’s defensive black holes.
The Texans won the third game by 19 points then shot 57% from the field in game four, a 107-86 victory in AmericanAirlines Arena.
The numbers were less gaudy in this contest, though they hit 46% of their three-point attempts, with Australian Patty Mills five-for-eight.
Ahead of the tip-off a fan outside the arena held a placard reading “Le team versus LeBron”.
It was a fair enough summary of the series, with the Spurs’ passing game stunningly effective, above all in games three and four, orchestrated by the predictably excellent Tony Parker and aided by the less-heralded craft of his fellow Frenchman, Boris Diaw.
Author : Paul Ojenge / Source