After a sensational season, where Miami Heat went on a near record breaking run and season destroying injuries were at the forefront, at the end of it all Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs served up one of the greatest NBA playoff Finals of all time. LeBron James & co were victorious in a heart-stopping 7 game series. What magic took place in those 7 games will stay with those players and fans forever; from the sensational block by LeBron on Tiago Splitter, to the incredible season saving trey from Ray Allen with 5 seconds to play in game 6, to the heart breaking missed lay-up by Tim Duncan in game 7. Every moment is engraved in the minds of those fans watching.
Without the explosiveness of D-Rose, the Bulls back-up Point Guard Nate Robinson dished up the bad, the good and the ugly all by himself, while Paul George stepped up for Danny Grainger, leading the Indiana Pacers to the Eastern Conference finals.
Lob City was lobbed out by the Memphis Grizzlies, whose first Western Conference finals left them mopped up by the Spurs brush. The strain on Kobe Bryant could not be relieved by Dwight Howard, whose Kryptonite was exposed in cruel fashion.
Once the season ended the usual culprits prepared for the scrutiny that awaits in the playoffs. In the East, the Heat set alight Brandon Jennings and the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Hawks failed to breach Indiana's home court. The Celtics battled hard, but no heroics this year as Melo and the Knicks looked favourites to re-ignite their rivalry with the Heat. The Nets couldn't follow the home court suit as they lacked the passion of the short handed Bulls.
Over in the West drama ensued as Westbrook's injury left KD on his own. But Durant took charge and the Rockets went home. The Kobe-less Lakers were humbled in 4 by the determined big three of the Spurs. The Nuggets incredible season ended abruptly at the hands of the 3-ball machine Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers and Grizzlies battled it out once again, but this time CP3 had no answer to the all round effectiveness of the Grizz.
Back to the East and the Heat's long wait proved fatal in game 1 vs Chicago. Their shots were off and the Bulls took home court advantage. But in the end an injury/illness hit Bulls were offered no sympathy from a Heat side that had only one thing on their minds. A championship!While the Heat waited again, the NY Knicks and the Pacers went head to head in a tense series. But once again the Pacers proved untouchable at home and a win in NY was all they needed to swoop through in 6.
While the Miami Heat & Indiana Pacers were set to square off, over in the West, Oklahoma City Thunder finally faltered without Russell Westbrook and the Grizzlies headed to their first Western Conference finals.
While the Spurs were firm favourites the Warriors went in with a plan. They took home court advantage, but their inability to hold a lead in the final quarter was punished severely. The Spurs struggled but eventually they were rid of the energetic Warriors.
The Conference finals were set and while the Grizzlies were swept in the West, Miami and Indiana fought tooth and nail to the very end.
In typical Heat fashion, they quickly lost home advantage. But that came after a dramatic buzzer beating lay-up from LeBron to snatch game 1. In game 2 behind George, Hibbert and West the Pacers knotted the series at 1-1.
Coach Spo's feisty Heat showed their bounce back abilities in Indiana to dominate game 3. The back and forth war continued as after 6 games they were tied at 3-3. Final game in Miami. Behind a solid team performance, the Miami Heat took game 7. For now LeBron could keep the haters at bay.
The final commenced in South Beach. A tight game ended with an incredible fade away jumper from Tony Parker to snatch home advantage away from Miami - yes, there's a theme developing here.
Game 2 and the Heat responded, but the Spurs were three games away from their 5th NBA title, all three taking place in San Antonio.
Game 3 was all Spurs, before the Heat pulled together and silenced the home crowd in game 4. The series was all level at 2-2, and Miami had home court back.
Game 5 was huge, as was Danny Green, who set a new record for 3 pointers in the NBA finals. Back to Miami, where the Heat needed to win. Their season, their legacies were on the line.
The pressure of the whole world was on LeBron's shoulders. Nothing he put up was going down, and there was no one else the media would blame if Miami failed to rip through this 10 point deficit in 12 minutes.
Tim Duncan couldn't miss and Tony Parker had taken over, yet Miami fought back. LeBron lost his headband, Mike Miller lost his shoe and suddenly Miami were soaring to a remarkable elimination game comeback.
Miami were ahead but the tide took another drastic turn. Miami lost their edge and the Spurs took back the advantage. Then came two untimely turnovers from the man bearing all the glares, LeBron James. The look on LeBron's face told a thousand stories. He could already see the following mornings headlines, and none of them mentioned Spurs winning the championship, they were all stating how LeBron James had lost it.
Ginobili went to the line, hitting 1-for-2. A 5 point game with 28 seconds to go. LeBron took the ball, threw up a 3... off the rim... offensive rebound.... back to LeBron... hits it!! On a second attempt James had cut the San Antonio lead to 2.After an intentional foul, Leonard was next to the line. Like Ginobili he was 1-for-2, giving Miami the perfect opportunity. 3 point game!
LeBron with the 3.....missed!!!!..... rebound Bosh....out to Allen.......HE NAILS IT!!!!!!!
Ray Allen, the greatest 3 point shooter of all time had just tore up the next mornings headlines and sent Miami into pandemonium.
Off to overtime and Miami took the lead, and with poor offensive plays from the Spurs and a few incredible blocks by Chris Bosh the Miami Heat had WON game 6! Incredible!
The heartbreak of coming so close will haunt the Spurs and their fans for a long time to come, but all their energy had to be focused on game 7.
Game 7 followed suit with the incredible series, as the Spurs and the Heat went back and forth all game. Then with Miami ahead by 2 in the closing minutes, the face of the San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan missed a relatively easy lay-up and could not convert the ensuing tip in. Neutrals, Spurs fans and even Heat fans hearts went out to the legend as he slumped in his seat during the next timeout. Pain and frustration etched all over his face.
With a slender disadvantage, the Spurs went to the unpredictable Manu Ginobili. The veteran made an impact, but sadly for San Antonio it wasn't the impact they hoped for. Horrible turnovers cost the Spurs in the final stages, and Miami Heat could celebrate championship number 3!!!!
So that was it, I know writing about it can never bring back the array of emotions that this season brought. But hey, for now lets just continue to re-live those best bits. You never know maybe next season will be even better. I really hope so!
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Don't forget to watch out in the coming weeks for my video reviews of the 2012-13 season. Not only that but I will also be looking ahead to the 2013-14 season.
