The NBA?s most valuable player gets his hands on the prize after three tries
LeBron James has his hands firmly on the NBA title after three trips to the finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. Now, the focus will be to win more titles in the years to come.
James was in outstanding form and scored 26 points, 11 rebounds and had a game-high 13 assists to lead Miami Heat to a 121-106 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder team. It was a fourth straight win for the Heat in the best of seven series.
?This means everything. This is the happiest day of my life,? James said. He was also named the MVP of the series.
The 27-year-old James was dominant throughout the series but in the Game Five clincher, he had help from all his cohorts.
Six Heat players scored in double figures, including Chris Bosh with 24 and reserve Mike Miller with 23, who went 7-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc in a spectacular display of shooting for the Heat.
Miami’s confidence soared as the game went on, as they made a sizzling 14-of-26 three-pointers to tie the record for most long-range baskets in an NBA Finals game.
James, three-time league MVP, gave Durant a long embrace as the buzzer sounded to end the game and the series.
It was Miami’s second NBA title following a 2006 triumph, and erased the bitter taste of a six-game defeat by the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s Finals.
James averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists in the series for Cleveland, who were swept in four games in 2007 by the San Antonio Spurs, and then lost in six to the Dallas Mavericks last season.
?Losing the finals last year put me back in place, it humbled me a lot,” said James, before succumbing to the excitement. “It’s about damn time!”
Jide, formerly a professional footballer, is now a sports writer.
