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| Shane Battier played his best game of the season in Game 7. He had 18 points on 6-8 from downtown. (Image from: ESPN.com) |
It was not as good as Game 6 but the last game of the season came very close to matching the previous game. Miami had the lead in the 4th quarter but they could not pull away from San Antonio. The Spurs always had an answer for every big play by the Heat. The biggest lead was 7 points and it could have gone either way. A lucky bounce here, a clutch jumper there and an unlikely missed shot decided the champion of 2013. All the players played to exhaustion and The Miami Heat earned every bit of their trophy after an epic and competitive series versus the San Antonio Spurs. The two heavyweights punched back and forth with neither team going down for the count. The game was very close for 47+ minutes and the Spurs were right there until Duncan missed a "bunny", then LBJ nailed a jumper which he was doing all-night long. The Heat escaped with a win and now they are on top of the basketball world with their 2nd straight title. Miami was the best team in the regular season and they had the best player in the NBA. Nothing was easy in the Finals. This was one of the best Finals Ive seen and Im already looking forward to next season. Im crossing my fingers that Miami and San Antonio have NOT seen the last of each other.
#jumpers #mvp #flash #shane
LeBron James made jumper after jumper to finish with 37 points, a finals high for him. He snagged his 2nd Finals MVP trophy after he made 5 threes and 9 jumpers in total. The Spurs kept giving LBJ space to shoot instead of him attacking the paint. That was a good strategy for the Spurs since James struggled shooting in the first 6 games of the finals. But for the past season, LBJ was among the best and most efficient shooters in the NBA. His jumper felt good in the most important game of the season and even Dwyane Wade had enough in him to deliver an adequate supporting role. Wade was active defensively (10 boards, 2 blocks) and his jumpers were falling during isolation plays. Kudos to Shane Battier who played his best game as a Heat with 18 points on 6 threes. Battier was on a shooting slump prior to Game 6 and was not playing much. In the last 2 games, he shot 9-12 from downtown. Miami needed all the points they could harness from Battier and Chalmers (14 points). Only 5 players scored for Miami since Mike Miller, Ray Allen and Chris Bosh combined for ZERO points but all of that will be forgotten thanks to the brilliance of LeBron James.
#class #respect #gospursgo
The Spurs deserve a lot of praise and credit for their performance this season. Many (including myself) did not expect them to reach the Finals as we opted to select the OKC Thunder or LA Lakers to represent the West. The Spurs exemplified team ball and unselfishness as they marched their way to the Finals with only 2 losses. The Spurs almost became champs in Game 6. They faltered in that game but they recovered and battled hard in Game 7. Ultimately, they could not stop LeBron James, so they fell short to the best player in the game. After the buzzer, the Spurs congratulated and hugged the champs. San Antone oozed class and respect from their players to their coaching staff. This series displayed the shooting talents of Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard's superb play on both sides of the floor. Kawhi had 5 double-doubles while primarily defending James. Tim Duncan delivered vintage performances in the last 2 games but Tony Parker was clearly limited by injury while Manu Ginobili was erratic. Manu had a better performance in this game than Game 6 but he committed 3 turnovers in the 4th including a crucial one in the last seconds with the Spurs down by 4. If this was the last hurrah of the Spurs Big 3, they went out with dignity and class. I truly applaud that.
#nextseason #3-peat? #basketballneverstops
Winning their second straight title was tougher and harder than the first one. For the Heat to compete and win their 3rd straight, a lot more will be required of them. Other teams in the East will be better, hungrier and stronger. The Bulls will have a refreshed Derrick Rose while the Pacers will get Danny Granger back (or he could be traded for someone who can contribute instantly). The Knicks and Nets will be competitive while the Sixers could have Andrew Bynum ready, if he stays with them. Miami will have most of their players back and they need to retain Chris Anderson. Meanwhile, Ray Allen has a player option for next year and hopefully he will exercise that to remain with Miami. The Heat might use their amnesty clause on Mike Miller, James Jones or Joel Anthony to search for another big man who can battle the likes of Roy Hibbert. As for the Spurs, Ginobili will be a free agent or he might retire. If Manu does leave, the Spurs have adequate players (Green & Leonard) who can fill the void. Tim Duncan has already expressed his desire to play out his contract and that means Coach Pop will be back as well. Overall, this was a great and exciting NBA season and the finals proved to be an epic way of ending the 2012-2013 season. Basketball never stops and our focus will be on the NBA Draft and the upcoming free agent season starting on July.
#Player of the Night
LeBron James (Heat) - 37 points (finals high), 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 threes
#Highlight of the Night
Top Plays of the Finals
#Tweets of the Nights
LeBron's defensive range is incomparable. David West one series, Tony Parker the next. The man is a machine.
Good game-good game. Congrats to the Heat they won it on a great effort by LJ in both games 6 and 7. Spurs gave a great team effort.
Congrats to the 2x champion Heat and Spurs for a great NBA Finals. Great series, worthy champions.
My students were saddened by how the #NBAFinals ended. At least I know they can still tell who the good guys are. #HeatWon #OfCourseItSucks
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