A mere two days later, another series ends and we move on to the dog days of summer.
Game 5: Miami vs. San Antonio.
LeBron James had an incredible game. He started off by putting up 17 points in the first quarter. He ended up with 31, plus 10 rebounds.
Sadly, though, he's not the story of this game. Either that, or he is the story, but not for the reasons you'd think.
San Antonio started slowly; they were down 22-6 at one point, but like just about every other team in the playoffs, they eradicated the lead and started building one of their own.
The only problem was that Miami wasn't really up to the challenge after the first quarter. It's not the only time that happened in this series, either.
The Spurs' trio of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker was excellent as usual, even if it took Parker a while to get going. But it was Kawhi Leonard who stole the show, cementing what has been the greatest series of his young career thus far. He put up 22 points and 10 rebounds, on 7-of-10 shooting. Leonard fouled out late in the game and I honestly didn't notice. It didn't even dim his impact in the slightest.
Because Leonard's performance single-handedly turned the series, he earned the Finals MVP and was presented the trophy by Bill Russell.
If that's not a career highlight, I don't know what is.
What's funny about this game is that Danny Green wasn't really a part of it. And yet, due to the style that the Spurs play, his absence wasn't completely detrimental. In fact, they had little to no problem as other guys stepped up, notably Patty Mills.
This makes five titles for the Spurs and Tim Duncan. Ginobili and Parker have four. It's been an incredible run. It'll be sad to see it end, but I'm not entirely sure that they can't make another go at it next season.
Congratulations to the San Antonio Spurs.
San Antonio wins the series 4-1. They win the NBA Championship.
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