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Pushed to Limit, James and Miami Repeat as Champions Pushed to Limit, James and Miami Repeat as N.B.A. Champions
(about 2 hours later)
MIAMI — Legacies are generally determined after the fact, written by others, imposed on the subject without their input. For the last three years, LeBron James has endured daily revisions to his legacy, a chorus of critics framing his career based on a single game, a single series, the shots that swished and those that missed, never waiting for a fuller picture to emerge. MIAMI — Legacies are generally determined after the fact, written by others, imposed on the subjects without their input. For the last three years, LeBron James has endured daily revisions to his legacy, a chorus of critics framing his career based on a single game, a single series, the shots that swished and those that missed, never waiting for a fuller picture to emerge.
James at last seized control of his own narrative Thursday night, leaving nothing to chance and no more room for debate. He drove hard, shot brilliantly, scored every critical basket and finally pushed the Miami Heat past the San Antonio Spurs for a 95-88 victory in Game 7 of the N.B.A. finals.James at last seized control of his own narrative Thursday night, leaving nothing to chance and no more room for debate. He drove hard, shot brilliantly, scored every critical basket and finally pushed the Miami Heat past the San Antonio Spurs for a 95-88 victory in Game 7 of the N.B.A. finals.
“For me, I can’t worry what everybody say about me,” James said on the championship stage, the red and white confetti raining all around him, the crowd shrieking in agreement. As red and white confetti rained from the rafters at American Airlines Arena, James — oft vilified, perpetually scrutinized — soaked in the revelry and embraced a new identity: back-to-back champion.
A year after securing his first title, James claimed his second, with a 37-point, 12-rebound finale, closing out a taut series against the Spurs, who were seeking their fifth title with Tim Duncan. There were still doubters out there, somewhere, beyond the clouds of fluttering paper, but their ranks are surely shrinking.
“Every night I walk into the locker room  and I see No. 6 with James on the back, I’m blessed,” James said. “So whatever anybody says about me, I got no worries.” “I can’t worry about what everybody says about me,” a joyful James said on the championship podium after receiving his second straight finals Most Valuable Player trophy. “I’m LeBron James, from Akron, Ohio, from the inner city. I’m not even supposed to be here.”
The Heat join the Los Angeles Lakers as only team to repeat in the post-Jordan era. They did it by becoming just the fourth team to win Games 6 and 7 at home after facing a 3-2 deficit. James came here three summers ago in pursuit of championship glory, to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in a superstar lineup for the ages, to start collecting championships — “Not one, not two, not three ... ” he infamously declared in July 2010. The banners are indeed starting to accumulate, with James earning this second title despite diminishing returns from his co-stars.
 “They played Hall of Fame basketball tonight,” Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said of James and Dwyane Wade. “That’s some of the best basketball they both played at the same time throughout the entire playoffs, from what I saw.” With Wade slowed by an injured right knee, James carried a greater burden this June than he did a year ago. And he faced a tougher, more seasoned opponent, a decorated Spurs team with three Hall of Fame talents in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
Duncan, one of the greatest big men to play the game, lost in the finals for the first time in his five appearances, and perhaps bowed off this stage for the final time. At age 37, he might not get another chance. It took seven games, including a furious comeback and an overtime in Game 6, to earn this moment. And then it took everything James had in the final minutes of the final game.
“I still have Game 6 in my head,” said Manu Ginobili, who scored 18 points. He added, “Being so close and feeling that you are about to grab that trophy and then seeing it vanish, is very hard.” “The toughest series we’ve ever been in,” Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said.
James hit a 17-footer with 5 minutes 37 seconds to play, staking Miami to an 83-77 lead. The Spurs got sloppy, passes by Tony Parker and Ginobili sailing out of bounds for turnovers. But the Spurs kept coming. After leading the Heat’s comeback two nights earlier, James carried them to the finish with a 37-point, 12-rebound outburst on Thursday. He had 8 points in the final 5 minutes 39 seconds, repelling every attempt by the Spurs to take the game back.
When James hit a jumper, Ginobili answered with a 3-pointer. When Shane Battier hit a 3-pointer for an 88-82 lead, Duncan countered with a 3-point play. After Wade sliced in for a layup, Kawhi Leonard responded with a 3-pointer. The lead dropped to 2 points just once, on Kawhi Leonard’s 3-pointer with two minutes to go. James answered with an 18-footer, then a pair of free throws. The building rumbled in anticipation and then finally exploded, the Heat celebrating their third title since 2006.
With the Heat holding a 2-point lead and the pressure building, Mario Chalmers missed two free throws. Duncan, the four-time champion, missed two shots from close range. Wade pushed through the knee pain and limitations, delivering 23 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. Afterward, he insisted on being called “Three,” in reference to his third championship.
With 39 seconds to go, the Heat’s lead stood at 90-88. James nailed an 18-footer to give the Heat a cushion, the crowd erupting as it connected. The M.V.P. chants came next, as James finished off the game with two free throws. “They played Hall of Fame basketball tonight,” Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said of James and Wade. “That’s some of the best basketball they both played at the same time throughout the entire playoffs, from what I saw.”
There was no diminishing the moment, its historic importance, its impact on the careers of everyone involved. Even James, who is constantly fighting against the notion that every game is a referendum on his legacy, readily admitted this would be “one of the biggest games, if not the biggest game, of my life.” The Heat, despite a scoreless game from Bosh, joined the Los Angeles Lakers as the only teams with back-to-back titles in the post-Michael Jordan era. They did it by becoming only the fourth team to win Games 6 and 7 at home after facing a 3-2 deficit. It was the first time in this series that either team won two in a row.
James finished 12 for 23 from the field, setting a finals career high with five 3-pointers. David Stern, who is stepping down as commissioner next February, handed the trophy over for the 30th and final time, and handed the finals M.V.P. trophy to James, his second straight. James joined Michael Jordan and Bill Russell — for whom the finals M.V.P. trophy is named — as the only players to win back-to-back regular-season M.V.P. awards and N.B.A. titles. It was a heartbreaking conclusion for the Spurs, who came within seconds of winning the championship in Game 6. Duncan was aiming for his fifth title, which would have placed him alongside Kobe Bryant for the most by any star in the post-Jordan era. This was his first defeat in the finals, and it hit hard.
James scored 28 points over the first three quarters. Apropos of the series, neither team could get any separation. The Heat led by 2 points after one quarter, by 2 points at halftime and by one point after three quarters. Sitting on the postgame podium, Duncan looked inconsolable. He stared down at the table, his left hand on his head, and paused frequently between phrases. He bemoaned his “bad decisions” and missed shots, in particular two point-blank shots that could have tied the game at 90-90 with about a minute to play.
Mario Chalmers closed the third period with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer off the glass for a 72-71 edge. Still, Duncan was mostly brilliant, finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 4 steals. Ginobili added 18 points and 5 assists but had four turnovers, all in the fourth quarter.
Parker struggled through a miserable shooting night, shooting 3 of 12 for 10 points. Danny Green, whose brilliant 3-point shooting at times carried the Spurs in this series, also faltered, shooting 1 of 12 from the field for 5 points. At 37, Duncan may have taken his last turn on this stage. Ginobili, who turns 36 next month, is about to become a free agent. There is no guarantee that the Spurs as we know them will return intact, though they remained defiant to the end.
This time, the clutch shooting came from Battier, reprising his performance from last year’s finals. He scored 18 points, including six of eight 3-ppointers “Can’t believe you’re asking that question,” Parker said. “It’s been five, six years you’re saying we’re too old. I’m not going to answer that.”
This was just the fourth seven-game finals in the last 20 years, and was as riveting as any of them, for the personalities it featured and for the way it unfolded. Parker was limited for the last three games by a hamstring injury, although he refused to say it was a factor in his 3-for-12 shooting line in Game 7. He finished with 10 points. The Spurs shot 37.8 percent in the finale, with 15 turnovers. Yet they played with a striking spirit, despite what they had gone through two nights earlier, and battled to the final minute.
The Spurs and Heat alternated victories for six games, neither team able to shake the other. It opened with the Spurs stealing home-court advantage in Game 1, on Parker’s game-sealing circus shot. The next four games were decided by double digits — each team giving a momentary impression of dominance until the roles were suddenly reversed. “In my case, I still have Game 6 in my head,” said Ginobili, who took that loss harder than most. He added, “Being so close and feeling that you are about to grab that trophy, and then seeing it vanish, is very hard.”
Then came an epic Game 6 — the Spurs closing within seconds of the title, the security ropes set and the trophy waiting in the wings. Then a Ray Allen 3-pointer, an overtime, a Heat victory, a celebration postponed, a series pushed to the nail-biting brink. Apropos of the series, neither team could get much separation. The Heat led by 2 points after one quarter, by 2 points at halftime and by 1 point after three quarters.
Just 48 hours had passed since that game, hardly enough time for anyone to regenerate emotionally or physically, or for the Spurs to get over a loss that Popovich plainly admitted was “devastating.” James hit a 17-footer with 5:37 to play, staking Miami to an 83-77 lead. The Spurs got sloppy, passes by Parker and Ginobili sailing out of bounds for turnovers. But they kept coming.
There was no evident hangover, however, and no crisis of confidence on the San Antonio bench. Parker kept attacking. Duncan kept pushing his way to the rim. The Spurs leaped ahead by 7 points, fell behind by 6 points, erased the deficit and finally entered halftime down by a single basket, 46-44. When James hit a jumper, Ginobili answered with a 3-pointer. When Shane Battier hit a 3-pointer for an 88-82 lead, Duncan countered with a 3-point play. After Wade sliced in for a layup, Leonard responded with a 3-pointer.
James and Wade left nothing to chance, asserting themselves early and combining for 29 points in the half. Duncan and Parker nearly matched them, with 23 points. There was no diminishing the moment, its historical importance, its impact on the careers of everyone involved. Even James, who is constantly fighting the notion that every game is a referendum on his legacy, readily admitted this would be “one of the biggest games, if not the biggest game, of my life.”
Whether it was fatigue or anxiety at work, everyone stumbled through the first quarter, shots clanking and passes flying where they shouldn’t. The Heat put together the first serious run, 11-1, built on three 3-pointers from Battier. So James responded accordingly, shooting 12 for 23 from the field, going 8 for 8 from the foul line, setting a finals career high with five 3-pointers, and looking every bit like the greatest player on the planet.
Two years ago, James and Wade suffered the indignity of watching the Dallas Mavericks celebrate a championship on their home court. Twelve months ago, the Heat cleansed their souls with their own championship party on the American Airlines Arena floor. Win again, and the feeling would last another year. Lose, and the doubts would swell once more. “He’s the best player I’ve ever seen in my life in person, hands down,” Bosh said, adding: “When we needed big shots, he hit them all. He hit them all.”
“It’s never the same,” Heat Coach Erik Spoeltra said earlier. “It’s always the most difficult thing you’ll ever do collectively.” Danny Green, whose brilliant 3-point shooting at times carried the Spurs in this series, faltered badly in the finale, going 1 for 12 from the field. This time, the clutch shooting came from the Heat’s Battier, reprising his performance from last year’s finals, who hit 6 of 8 shots from behind the arc, finishing with 18 points.
This was just the fourth seven-game finals in the last 20 years, and it was as riveting as any of them, for the personalities it featured and for the way it unfolded.
The Spurs and the Heat alternated victories for six games, neither team able to shake the other. It opened with the Spurs stealing home-court advantage in Game 1, on Parker’s game-sealing circus shot. The next four games were decided by double digits — each team giving a momentary impression of dominance until the roles were suddenly reversed.
Then came an epic Game 6 — the Spurs coming within seconds of the title, the security ropes set and the trophy waiting. Then a Ray Allen 3-pointer, an overtime, a Heat victory, a celebration postponed, a series pushed to the nail-biting brink.
David Stern, who is stepping down as commissioner next February, handed the trophy over for the 30th and final time, and handed the finals M.V.P. trophy to James, his second straight. James joined Michael Jordan and Bill Russell — for whom the finals M.V.P. trophy is named — as the only players to win back-to-back regular-season M.V.P. awards and N.B.A. titles.
Outside the Heat’s locker room, Pat Riley, the man who persuaded James, Wade and Bosh to become teammates three years ago, was receiving congratulatory hugs, handshakes and pats on the back from everyone near him.
“The vision that I had when I decided to come here is all coming true,” James said, his white T-shirt soaked through with Champagne. “Through adversity, through everything we’ve been through, we’ve been able to persevere and win back-to-back championships. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”