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MIAMI -- The moment arrived. Players were spent, the emotional and physical toll zapping them of almost everything they had.
LeBron James had the ball at the top of the key. He drove right and with San Antonio Spurs guard Kawhi Leonard guarding him, James pulled up and drilled a 19-foot jump shot with 27.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter. He pumped his fists and the crowd went crazy.
With that shot of adrenaline, James stole the ball on the next possession, made the free throws and secured the victory.
These are his kind of moments.
"He probably lost 12-15 pounds in this playoff run, expending so much energy," said his coach Erik Spoelstra.
James finished with a game-high 37 points and led the Miami Heat to a 95-88 victory vs. the Spurs in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, giving Miami its second consecutive NBA championship.
James, the four-time MVP, was named Finals MVP for the second consecutive season.
The game was back and forth throughout. The Spurs' biggest lead was seven at 11-4 and the Heat's was six on a couple of occasions until the final seconds. This was the kind of game you expect in a Game 7, and the third competitive game of the series.
Tim Duncan of the Spurs had 24 points, 12 rebounds and four steals.
"Tim Duncan is one of the greatest players of all time," Wade said. "If I'm able to do what Tim Duncan did at 37 years old, I'm happy. That guy is a warrior."
It was Miami 72, San Antonio 71 at the start of the fourth quarter. What more could you ask after 27 quarters and one overtime in the Finals? It was 90-88 Heat with under a minute to play and the Spurs had the ball.
Best-of-nine anyone? Two proud, fatigued champions went at it with effort and skill that got them this far. Miami had more - not by a lot - but more.
"Everything. It took everything we had as a team," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "We're a resilient team. We did whatever it took."
Throughout the series, the Spurs dared James to shoot three-pointers. James revealed a truth in what he called the biggest game of his life. He shot a career-high 40.6% on three-pointers this season and buried the Spurs with five threes on Thursday.
The Heat finally won back-to-back games in the playoffs - something they hadn't done since the end of the Chicago Bulls series and start of the Indiana Pacers series - and overcame a 3-2 deficit. With Miami winning the series 4-3, it was also the first time the Spurs trailed in any of their five Finals appearances.
The season started off fine enough for the Heat. It wasn't exactly a championship hangover, but the Heat meandered through the first three months of the season with a decent 29-14 record.
Coach Erik Spoelstra was not happy with the team's road record - just 11-11 three months into season.
The January signing of forward Chris Andersen began to yield results as the season moved to February, and the Heat rattled off 27 consecutive victories, the second longest winning streak in NBA history.
Miami punctuated the streak with excellent victories over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers and improbable comebacks against the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.
During the streak, Miami scored 113.1 points per 100 possessions and allowed 99 points per 100 possessions. The Heat were an offensive and defensive power, and when they stopped teams fro scoring, they were difficult to stop in transition.
The streak ended with a loss at Chicago on March 27. Miami still finished the season strong wins against the Spurs and Bulls and earned the No. 1 overall season and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs with a 66-16 record. They also finished with the league's best road record, a source of pride for Spoelstra after the 11-11 road start.
The Big 3 put together outstanding seasons - James, Wade and Bosh all shot career-highs from the field. Wade was one of four players this season to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists and was named to the All-NBA third team.
Of course, James was also one of the four: 26.8 points, eight rebounds and 7.3 assists - just one of four players in NBA history to average at least those totals. Combined with his defense, James earned league MVP for the second consecutive season.
But it was just wasn't James, Wade and Chris Bosh producing. Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole were more than capable point guards, Ray Allen provided Hall of Fame shooting off the bench, and Shane Battier gave the Heat solid defense and three-point shooting. Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller and Andersen were part of a deep rotation.
The Heat rolled over the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs and even though their conference semifinals series against the Bulls was competitive at times, the Heat won in five games.
But Wade's bruised right knee began to take a toll on his production in the postseason, and throughout, he has had to muster up what he could - sometimes it was a lot, sometimes it wasn't - to help.
"It's what it's all about," Wade said. "Everything that people had to say about my individual self, other guys on the team. This is why we came together. We're a team."
Fissures in the Heat's structure began to appear against the beat-up Bulls, and the Indiana Pacers had big and healthy players to give the Heat trouble.
The Heat finally won back-to-back games in the playoffs - something they hadn't done since the end of the Chicago Bulls series and start of the Indiana Pacers series - and overcame a 3-2 deficit. With Miami winning the series 4-3, it was also the first time the Spurs trailed in any of their five Finals appearances.
Amazingly, the Heat beat the Spurs in Game 7 with Bosh scoring no points. But he played solid defense, and Miami's decision to assemble a Big 3 paid off again.
Dwyane Wade had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Shane Battier 18 and Mario Chalmers 14 for the Heat.
Battier was having a bad series, even had a did not play. Coming back in Game 7 with 6 of 8 from three-point range was big.
"Reports of my demise were premature," Battier said.
Entering Game 7, James was plus-48 points with Wade on the bench. With Wade and James in the game at the same time, James was minus-56. A proponent advanced statistics, Spoelstra dismissed the James-Wade numbers.
"We're going as far as they take us, along with the other guys," Spoelstra said. "You can't win this series or the last game with a statistic."
It is old school, but Spoelstra danced with the players who brought him this far. That included Heat forward Shane Battier. He had made just 25% of his three-pointers in the playoffs prior to Game 7, but Spoelstra's confidence in Battier never dropped even as Battier's minutes dropped at the start of the series.
Battier made his first five three-pointers.
The championship caps a fantastic two-season run for Miami. The Heat played in back-to-back seven-game series in the conference finals (Boston last season, Indiana this season) and defeated one of the most successful franchises in the past 15 seasons for the 2012-13 title.
Then, there's James. He joins Bill Russell and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to win consecutive regular-season MVPs and championships. Add James' 2012 Olympic gold medal, and it's been an impressive redemption story since the end of Miami's 2011 Finals loss against the Dallas Mavericks.
James entered the game averaging 31.5 points, 10 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 11 previous elimination games.
On Wednesday, James called Game 7: "It's probably going to be one of the biggest games, if not the biggest game, of my life. But I'm going to just keep it the same way I've been doing."
Usually, that's good enough, and it was.
No team led by more than seven points, and every time the Heat sniffed a small run, the Spurs snuffed it out. Kawhi Leonard was fantastic in the third quarter with nine points.
But he had the league's toughest assignment on the other end of the court: guarding James, who 13 points and made three three-pointers in the third.
It was Miami 72, San Antonio 71 at the start of the fourth quarter. What more could you ask after 27 quarters and one overtime in the Finals.
James started 1-for-5 from the field, but started to find his offense as the half unfolded and finished with 15 points in the opening 24 minutes.
With Bosh scoreless and in foul trouble in the first half, Wade picked up the offense with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting, and Chris Andersen played physical defense on Spurs forward Tim Duncan.
Neither team was sharp in the first quarter - perhaps a carryover from the emotionally and physically demanding Game 6 overtime thriller won by the Heat. Miami started out just 2-for-8 shooting and was on the verge of falling behind by double figures midway through the quarter.
But with Wade and Bosh on the bench, Miami finished the quarter on an 8-1 run and led 18-16 headed into the second quarter.
The Heat had chances to extend their lead to eight points in the second quarter, but sloppy play - eight turnovers in the first half - allowed San Antonio to stay close.
Battier, who delivered fantastic one-liners in news conferences, made his first three three-point attempt.
The Heat followed their Game 6 gameplan and prevented Spurs guard Danny Green from destroying them on three-pointers. That came at a cost. Duncan had 13 points in the first half.
Wade closed out the half with a mid-range jumper and gave Miami a 46-44 lead. Wade and James had 21 of Miami's final 23 points of the half.
Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports
USA Today / Gannett
