Crown the King Again

In a truly incredible championship series, there could only be one champion. MVP LeBron James made sure it was the Heat last night, totaling 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists as Miami won their second straight championship, beating the Spurs 95-88.

In a series that featured the defending champions featuring the world's best player and a dynasty looking to squeeze one more championship out of its aging core, we got seven great games, which featured four blowouts displaying impeccable offensive execution of one team slicing apart the opposition's defense. However, the other three games were simply incredible barn burners. The difference in the series? Miami won the final two of those closely-contested contests, riding its MVP in the final moments of each.

Although LeBron struggled most of the series with his shot, when it mattered most, he stepped up, willing the undersized Heat, who went the distance in its final two playoff series, to lift the trophy once again.

"It took everything we had as a team," said Dwyane Wade, who battled knee injuries throughout the series, but bounced back to play great in Games 5-7, scoring 23 points in the clincher. "Credit to the San Antonio Spurs, they're an unbelievable team, an unbelievable franchise. This is the hardest series we ever had to play. But we're a resilient team and we did whatever it took."

For the Spurs, who were bidding to win their fifth championship, they will have to accept the championship defeat knowing that they very well should have won the series in Game 6, when they blew multiple opportunities to put the Heat away. Even after they choked away a 10 point lead to fall behind, they were up five points with 28 seconds to play from their title. But a couple offensive rebounds and a costly missed free throw from Kawhi Leonard allowed the Heat to force overtime, and ultimately a Game 7.

Last night in Game 7, although they fought hard, getting 24 points and 12 rebounds from living legend Tim Duncan, they simply couldn't overcome LeBron, reserve forward Shane Battier's lights out shooting display (6 three-pointers), and a subpar performance from leading scorer Tony Parker, who struggled for the second straight game against the defense of James, scoring just 10 points.

"It was a great series and we all felt that," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "...It's no fun to lose, but we lost to a better team. And you can live with that as long as you've given your best, and I think we have."