The San Antonio Spurs came very close to winning the NBA title on Tuesday night in Game 6, but after an amazing three point shot from Ray Allen and an intense overtime period, the Miami Heat forced a Game 7 and now they are NBA champions for the second straight year.
The team came so close to winning and the emotions that they went through may haunt them for years, as the title would have been the fifth for Tim Duncan and the fourth for the Big Three of Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The team did their best in Games 6 and 7, but Miami was better and younger and despite 30 points in Game 6 and leading the team in Game 7, Duncan couldn't get the victory.
James was fantastic all series and he continued that in Game 7, scoring 37 points on his way to a seconds straight MVP. The agony of their 95-88 defeat in Game Seven of one of the most exciting NBA Finals in years was made all the worse in the knowledge they could just as easily have won the title themselves. San Antonio led by five points with 28 seconds left in regulation but went on to lose in overtime. With momentum on their side and homecourt advantage for Game Seven, Miami made the Spurs pay for their lapse by snatching the title.
The Spurs were just seconds away from clinching a fifth NBA championship in Tuesday's Game Six when Miami pulled off a miraculous escape. The Spurs' worst nightmare became a reality when they lost the decisive game of the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat on Thursday. Tim Duncan played on each of San Antonio's four championship winning teams and had never lost a Finals series before Thursday.
The 37-year-old led his team with 30 points in Game Six and 24 in Game Seven to keep his team in the hunt but he missed a hook shot and follow-up attempt under the basket in the final minute with his team trailing by two. San Antonio's Argentinian shooting guard Manu Ginobili said he struggled to raise himself for the series decider after the disappointment of Game Six.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was gracious in defeat, saying Miami deserved their win. Tony Parker, who managed only 10 points in the decisive game, said the loss was harder to take because of the circumstances.
"It's tough to come so close. Those last two games are tough, especially Game Six," said the Frenchman.
"It's no fun to lose, but we lost to a better team," Popovich told a news conference. "And you can live with that as long as you've given your best. And I think we have. We just didn't play well."
Popovich, who led the Spurs to four previous championships, conceded that his team had missed their opportunity in Game Six but said he could not be more proud of his players.
"It was a great series, and we felt that. I don't know if 'enjoy' is the right word, but in all honesty, even in defeat, I'm starting to enjoy what our group accomplished already.
"And you need to do that, to put it in perspective."
(Reuters Quotes)