The HEAT is ON! Heat SMASHES Thunder 121-106 for N.B.A. Title!

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The HEAT is on! Heat SMASHES Thunder 121-106 for N.B.A. Title

 

The King finally has his ring.

In one swift motion, packed with power, grace and symmetry, LeBron James grabbed a title and released his burdens, enjoying a coronation and liberation all at once. The audacious star with the “Chosen One” tattoo now has a trophy to validate the claim.
Dwyane Wade scored 20 points for the Heat as he won the second championship of his career.
The mission, nine years in the making, was finally completed late Thursday night, as James led the Miami Heat to a blistering 121-106 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder to claim the 2012 N.B.A. title.

A euphoric crowd showered James with adoration as he celebrated his soul-cleansing moment. The greatest N.B.A. player without a ring will soon have one.

“It’s about damn time,” James said gleefully during the trophy presentation, while also calling it “the happiest day in my life” and “a dream come true.”
James averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists in the series and was named the most valuable player by a unanimous vote. 

As the white confetti fell and the arena boomed, James shed the burdens of his past. He was no longer the antihero of the “The Decision,” or the flawed star of the 2011 finals, or the solo act who could not deliver a title to Cleveland, his hometown. He was, at long last, a champion. A near-decade of anticipation, unmet expectations, intense criticism and doubts washed away.

“I think everything changes,” Magic Johnson said earlier in the day, referring to James’s winning a title. He added: “He can now feel that, you know, that I am the best player in the world, because I won a ring. The ring says so. Not the media, not that the marketing says so, but my game actually says so. And we’re judged by championships.”
James was brilliant in the finale, with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists. He got ample help from his co-stars. Dwyane Wade scored 20 points, and Chris Bosh finished with 24 points and 7 rebounds.
James, Wade and Bosh, who united in a historic free-agent signing frenzy in 2010, checked out of the game together, to a standing ovation, with 3 minutes 1 second to play.

Mike Miller scored 23 points, his career playoff high, and hit 7 of 8 3-pointers. The Heat tied a finals record by hitting 14 3-pointers.

This finals was billed as an epic duel between James and the Thunder’s Kevin Durant, two of the most dynamic scorers in the game. They did not disappoint. In his finals debut, the 23-year-old Durant averaged 30.6 points.
Though it ended in five games, the series was close on the scoreboard. No lead was ever safe, and all four games came down to the final minutes.
Thursday was different. A championship was in reach, and the Heat had no desire to delay it. They raced to an early double-digit lead as fans filled the air with chants of “Let’s go Heat!” and “M-V-P” (for James).
Durant led a brief third-quarter rally that cut the deficit to 69-62. The Heat promptly blew the game open with a 19-1 run, taking a 25-point lead after consecutive 3-pointers by Bosh and Miller.

The Thunder never did get consistent production from their third star, James Harden.
Yet the Thunder’s future remains bright, with a core of 22- and 23-year-olds with seemingly unlimited potential. Durant and Russell Westbrook are one of the league’s most electrifying scoring tandems, and they figure to make many return trips. There will likely be another Heat-Thunder finals, perhaps several.
“I just told our guys, we didn’t win a championship this year,” Thunder Coach Scott Brooks said, “but they gave a championship effort.”

To Victor goes the spoils, that said…CONGRATULATIONS Miami Heat!