Heat seal 95-88 win over the Spurs to clinch another title.
The Miami Heat clinched a second title in two years with a 95-88 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 at the AA Arena on Thursday night.
LeBron James led the scoring for the hosts with 37 points in another dazzling performance, while Dwyane Wade contributed 23 points as Miami completed a remarkable turnaround after finding themselves 3-2 down in the series.
Chris Bosh and Mike Miller ended the game scoreless, but with 18 points off the bench from Shane Battier and 14 points from Mario Chalmers, the defending champions had more than enough to see off a resilient San Antonio.
As for the Spurs, Tim Duncan top-scored with 24 points but missed a critical lay-up and rebound down the stretch which would have tied the scores 90-90.
The veteran was clearly devastated with his missed effort thereafter, and the Spurs were unable to muster up another opportunity of closing the gap as James and Wade closed the game out.
It brings to an end a thrilling NBA Finals 2013, which has seen some memorable moments throughout. From Tony Parker’s buzzer beating winner in Game 1, to James’ block on Thiago Splitter in Game 2, the defining moments continued to the very end.
Arguably the most important play will remain Ray Allen’s late three in Game 6 which forced overtime and gave the Heat a chance to seal the win in the decider, and they duly delivered on Thursday night to send a packed-out AA Arena into delirium.
There were touching scenes at the end as both Wade and James consoled Duncan and the Spurs, however they will now begin the celebrations after clinching back-to-back championships.
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