The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 104-87 in game five of the finals to win the NBA Championship this evening, taking the series 4-1.
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The title win is the club's first since 2007, but becomes their fifth Championship victory under the tenure of head coach Gregg Popovich.
Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard was named MVP of the finals for his 22-point performance in game five, backing up his efforts from the previous four games. At 22, Leonard became the third-youngest recipient of the award, behind only Magic Johnson and teammate Tim Duncan.
Miami started the game strongly as they were in need of the win at the AT&T Center to keep their hopes of retaining their title alive, and Erik Spoelstra's men raced into a 22-6 lead.
However, substitutions from the Spurs bench arrived to drag them within seven points at the end of the first quarter with the score at 29-22, despite a 16-point start from LeBron James.
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In the second quarter, the Spurs began to take control of the game as Manu Ginobili made several great shots from distance along with Leonard to fire Popovich's team into the lead, while their defense began to shut down the Heat offense.
After the break, San Antonio's offense began to click further into gear and displayed some of the potent passing and movement shown in their victories in game three and four.
Veteran center Duncan became a factor with several two-point scores while Patty Mills began to find his range with regular three-pointers, as the home side began to edge further ahead of the Spoelstra's men.
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James made one last-ditch attempt to bring his side back into the game at the start of the fourth quarter to drag his side within 14 points, but his supporting cast failed to back up his 31-point display as Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade endured a miserable evening.
A late burst from guard Tony Parker ensured that the Spurs would see out the win and claim their fifth title in 15 years.
Simon Sinclair
