Spurs Win Championship

Once again it was pretty much San Antonio the whole game, the Cavs had a small lead early on and fought back furiously to take it again at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but every time they did so the Spurs scored half a dozen points in about a minute to take the lead again. Down the stretch though, it was pretty evident that San Antonio had the experience to win it all and the Cavaliers couldn’t buy a basket.

The worst play came at 53 seconds left in the game, and the Cavs were down 76-69. They didn’t trap the ball handler, they didn’t foul, and they let the clock run all the way down to 30 seconds. Even with the furious run the Cavaliers made in the final 30 seconds, the Spurs went to the free throw line and coolly made all their free throws to win the game.

I was really cheering for the Cleveland Cavaliers but the Spurs outplayed them all four games, in fact, the Cavs held the lead for a total of 150 seconds in the second half of all four games. Not a very exciting end to not a very exciting NBA playoffs this year (with the Golden State / Dallas series being the exception).

Once again, the San Antonio Spurs walked the hallways in champagne-soaked T-shirts.

Bruce Bowen carried the Larry O’Brien trophy, one he had cradled before.

Tony Parker, wrapped in France’s flag, squeezed an MVP award he richly deserved.

And Tim Duncan, always the center of everything for his team, recorded every precious moment with a camcorder.

This wasn’t their first NBA title. But for the Spurs, it’s maybe the one that means the most.

Champions for a fourth time in nine years, they’re now a dynasty.

“I don’t care where we fall in history,” Parker said. “I just feel blessed, honored and privileged to play on a team like this.”

And what a team it is.

True roundball royalty, the Spurs again wear the crown.

LeBron James, Cleveland’s preordained king, isn’t quite ready for his.

Parker scored 24 points, Manu Ginobili had 27 — 13 in the fourth quarter — and the Spurs moved in among the NBA’s greatest franchises with an 83-82 victory Thursday night for a sweep of the Cavaliers — court jesters through much of their first finals.

With their fourth championship since 1999 — and third in five years — the Spurs joined the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win four titles.

Source
Cleveland (AP)