MIAMI — Naisubi ng Miami Heat ang ikalawang sunod na kampeonato matapos na pabagsakin ang San Antonio Spurs, 95-88, Biyernes ng umaga sa Game Seven ng NBA Finals.Tumapos si LeBron James na may 37 puntos at 12 rebounds habang si Dwyane Wade ay nag-ambag ng 23 puntos at 10 rebounds para sa Heat.
Umiskor naman ng 18 puntos si Shane Battier na tumira ng 6-of-8 (75%) mula sa 3-point range.Nag-init din sa labas si James na nakapagbuslo ng limang tres mula sa 10 3-point attempts. Nabantayan din ng husto ni James ang kamador ng San Antonio na si Tony Parker.
Pinarangalan din sa ikalawang sunod na taon si James bilang Most Valuable Player ng NBA Finals. Siya rin ang nanalo bilang MVP ng season na ito. “I work on my game a lot throughout the offseason,” sabi ni James. “I put a lot of work into it and to be able to come out here and (have) the results happen out on the floor is the ultimate.
The ultimate. I’m at a loss for words.”Si Parker ay nalimita sa 10 puntos at 3-of-12 (25%) shooting lamang. Ang Spurs ay pinangunahan ni Tim Duncan na may 24 puntos at 12 rebounds. Nagdagdag naman ng 19 puntos at 16 rebounds si Kawhi Leonard.
Sa ikalawang sunod na laro ay inalat sa shooting si Danny Green na may limang puntos at 1-of-12 (8.33%) shooting lang sa Game Seven. Sa Game Six ay tumira siya ng 1-of-8 (12.5%) mula sa field. Matapos na makapagtala ng NBA Finals record na 25 three-pointers sa unang limang laro ng serye ay dalawang tres lamang ang nagawa ni Green sa Game Six at Game Seven.
Siya ay may 1-of-5 (20%) shooting mula sa three-point area sa Game Six at 1-of-6 (16.67%) naman sa Game Seven. Pakay sana ng Spurs na maging kauna-unahang road team na manalo sa Game Seven mula nang nagawa ito ng Washington (Bullets) noong 1978.
“To be at this point with this team in this situation, where people every year continue to count us out, is a great accomplishment,” sabi Duncan na natalo sa unang pagkakataon sa limang beses na pagsabak nito sa NBA Finals. “To be in a Ggame 7 or be in a Game 6 and up one with two chances to win an NBA championship, that’s tough to swallow.”
Ito naman ang ikatlong kampeonato para sa Miami. Tanging sina Wade at Udonis Haslem lamang ang nalalabing miyembro ng kanilang 2006 champion team. “It took everything we had as a team,” sabi ni Wade. “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.”
Sa panalong ito ay nakaganti na rin si James sa mga Spurs. Taong 2007 nang unang naglaro sa NBA Finals si James na noo’y miyembro pa ng Cleveland Cavaliers. Winalis noon ng San Antonio ang Cleveland, 4-0, kaya naman sa Game Seven noong Biyernes ay siniguro ni James na hindi siya uuwing luhaan laban sa tropa ni Duncan.
“LeBron was unbelievable,” sabi ni Duncan. “He stepped up in this last game and he made enough shots to make us change our defense over and over again. We just couldn’t find a way to stop him.” Bagaman natalo sa serye matapos na lumamang ng 3-2 ay pinuri pa rin ni Spurs coach Gregg Popovich ang kanyang koponan.
“I couldn’t love our guys more,” Popovich said. “What they accomplished this year was something nobody ever expected. They showed a lot of mental toughness and a lot of good play to get where they got. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
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