NBA legend Bill Russell presents the most valuable player award to the Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) after Game 5 of the NBA finals basketball series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Friday, June 22, 2012, in Miami. The Heat won 121-106 to become the 2012 NBA Champions. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
MIAMI — The Miami Heat clinched the NBA championship with a 121-106 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, winning the finals series 4-1.
LeBron James finally got his hands on the championship that had eluded him, scoring 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. Chris Bosh added 23 points and Dwyane Wade scored 20 points as the Heat’s ‘Big Three’ were showered in championship confetti that most had expected since they were brought together in Miami two years ago.
Regarded by many as the best player in the game for several years, James has finally and belatedly become part of the best team in the league.
“It means everything,” James said moments after the win. “I made a difficult decision to leave Cleveland but I understood what my future was about … I knew we had a bright future (in Miami). This is a dream come true for me. This is definitely when it pays off.”
He left the game along with Wade and Bosh for good with 3:01 remaining for a round of hugs and the start for a celebration he’s been waiting for since arriving in the NBA out of high school as the No. 1 pick of the 2003 draft.
James hopped up and down in the final minutes, shared a long hug with opponent Kevin Durant, and watched the confetti rain down from the rafters.
The Heat took control in the second quarter, briefly lost it and blew it open again in the third behind their role players, James content to pass to wide-open 3-point shooters while the Thunder focused all their attention on him.
Miami also got a huge boost from Mike Miller, who made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points.
Miami Heat small forward LeBron James goes toward the the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy after Game 5 of the NBA finals basketball series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Thursday, June 21, 2012, in Miami. The Heat won 121-106 to become the 2012 NBA Champions.(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The disappointment of losing to Dallas in six games last year vanished in a blowout of the demoralized Thunder, who got 32 points and 11 rebounds from Durant.
That made it easier for James, the most heavily scrutinized player in the league since his departure from Cleveland, when he announced he was “taking his talents to South Beach” on a TV special called “The Decision” that was criticized everywhere up to the commissioner’s office. James has said he wishes he handled things differently, but few who watched the Cavaliers fail to assemble championship talent around him could have argued with his desire to depart.
He found in Miami a team where he never had to do it alone — though he reminded everyone during his sensational postseason run that he still could when necessary. He got support whenever he needed it in this series, from Shane Battier’s 17 points in Game 2 to Mario Chalmers’ 25 in Game 4.
In the clincher it was Miller, banged-up from so many recent injuries that he practically limps from the bench to scorer’s table when he checks in. He made his fourth 3-pointer of the half right before James’ fast-break basket capped a 15-2 run that extended Miami’s lead to 53-36 with 4:42 remaining in the first half. James had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists at halftime, with the Heat ahead 59-49.
Durant added 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who made a remarkably early trip to the NBA Finals just three years after starting 3-29. With Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden all 23 or younger, the Thunder have the pieces in place for a lengthy stay atop the Western Conference.
But their inexperience showed in this series, a few questionable decisions, possessions and outright mistakes costing them. Westbrook scored 19 but shot only 4 of 20, unable to come up with anything close to his 43-point outing in Game 4, and Harden finished a miserable series with 19.
Nothing they done could have stopped James, anyway.
Appearing fully over the cramps that forced him to sit out the end of Game 4, he was back to his dominant self, a combination of strength and speed that is practically unmatched in the game — and rarely seen in the history of it.
James threw down an emphatic fast-break dunk to open the scoring. He made consecutive baskets while being fouled, showing no expression after the second, as if he’d hardly even known he was hit. Drawing so much attention from the Thunder, he started finding his wide-open shooters, and the Heat built a nine-point lead before going to the second up 31-26.
Oklahoma City got back within five early in the third before consecutive 3-pointers by Chalmers and Battier triggered a 27-7 burst that made it 88-63. James didn’t even score in the run until it was almost over, hitting a pair of free throws after he was flagrantly fouled by Derek Fisher while powering toward the basket.
Gone was the tentative player who was mocked for shrinking on the big stage last year, too willing to defer to others who didn’t possess half his talents. This time, he was at peace off the court and on attack on it, vowing to have no regrets and playing in such a way they wouldn’t be necessary.
James promised multiple titles when he arrived in Miami, and the Heat have three pieces to build around. Pat Riley will have to fill some holes on the roster, but will likely find some players eager to come to Miami for the good weather and great chance to win.