The Miami Heat reached the final defeating the New York Knicks 4-1 in the first round, the Indiana Pacers 4-2 in the Conference semifinals and the Boston Celtics 4-3 in the Conference finals. They’re in their second consecutive NBA Finals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder reached the final defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-0 in the first round, the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in the Conference semifinals and the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the Conference finals. They’re at their first NBA Finals since the Seattle Sonics migrated to Oklahoma City.
In Game 1, the Miami Heat started very reaching a 39-26 lead in the second quarter. At that point Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant (36 points including 17 in the fourth quarter) are important for the Oklahoma City Thunder but also the defense by Thabo Sefolosha, who defended excellently on LeBron James. In the last quarter, the Chosen One struggles and Miami’s supporting cast is not up to the task of facing the host players’ great energy. The games ends 105-94 for the Thunder, who take a 1-0 lead in the series.
In Game 2, the Miami Heat started even better than in Game 1 while the Oklahoma City Thunder struggled a lot for three quarters. The comeback for the hosts started too late and only in the end there was real fighting. However, the Heat managed to maintain a small lead and won 100-96 going on a 1-1 tie in the series.
In Game 3, the Miami Heat were again the ones who started better but this time the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t allow LBJ and his teammates to take a lead and the first half ended almost with a tie. In the third quarter, Kevin Durant and his teammates took a lead that reached 10 points but then made several errors that allowed the Heat to go ahead and win the game 91-85 to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
In Game 4 for the first time the Oklahoma City Thunder had a good start, so much that they finished the first quarter with a 33-19 lead. Russell Westbrook was devastating, so much that he scored a total of 43 points, but the Miami Heat already came back in the second quarter and at the end of the second quarter the lead for the Thunder was only 49-46. In the third quarter Durant and his teammates had a 10-point lead but the Heat came back again and even took the lead. In the fourth quarter, with LeBron Jameshaving cramp issues, the hero was Mario Chalmers, who scored 12 points to win 104-98 and take a 3-1 lead in the series.
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Game 5 is close at the start but the Miami Heat seem to have something more and at the end of the first quarter they have a 31-26 lead. In the second quarter, a fantastic LeBron James and his teammates reach a 53-36 lead but the Oklahoma City Thunder partially come back and the second quarter ends 59-49 for the Heat. In the third quarter, the Heat are unstoppable, reach a 88-63 lead and the third quarter ends 95-71 for them. The fourth quarter is just a party for the Heat, which also have an amazing Mike Miller, who finally does what he was hired for scoring 23 points with a stunning 7/8 by three points. The game ends 121-106 and Miami win the final set 4-1.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have paid at least in part for their inexperience. Kevin Durant has proven that he’s an extraordinary player while Russell Westbrook and James Harden didn’t always play at their best. If they can keep the team intact they’ll have other opportunities.
For the Miami Heat, after last year’s huge disappointment, the triumph arrived. In case of defeat, Pat Riley’s plan would’ve failed and the whole organization would’ve suffered. This is especially a tryumph for LeBron James (photo ©Keith Allison): after “The Decision” he was criticized more than ever and last year he was disappointing in the most important moments of the finals. I have to admit that this year he played like a winner with a triple-double in Game 5. Obviously he’s the MVP of these Finals.
Next season – let’s hope it will be normal! – Derrick Rose will be back, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have much more experience and the other teams won’t just be watching but now that the Miami Heat were able to win despite the enormous pressure so they’ll be more ever the team to beat.
