Spurs 104, Heat 87
NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 10 rebounds as host San Antonio routed Miami for the third straight game to win the fifth NBA title in franchise history.
Manu Ginobili scored 19 points and Patty Mills added 17 for the Spurs, who dispatched defending champion Miami in five games to win the crown for the first time since 2007. Tony Parker scored all 16 of his points in the second half and Tim Duncan chipped in 14 and eight rebounds for San Antonio, which trailed by 16 points early in the contest before outscoring the Heat 59-22 over a 23-minute stretch.
LeBron James had 31 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, which is 2-2 in the NBA Finals during James’ four seasons with the franchise. Chris Bosh added 13 points and Dwyane Wade scored 11, but the Heat were only 7-of-25 from 3-point range while Mills alone made five as the Spurs hit 12-of-26 attempts.
San Antonio led by seven at halftime before opening the third quarter with an 18-4 burst to open up a 21-point lead with five minutes left in the period. Mills scored 14 points in the stanza as San Antonio led 77-58 entering the fourth and maintained a large advantage before emptying the bench in the final minutes.
Miami exploded at the outset and took a 22-6 lead as the Spurs missed 11-of-12 shots over the opening seven minutes before responding with 12 straight points. The Heat tallied just 11 second-quarter points and San Antonio seized control with a 14-0 burst as it headed into the break in possession of a 47-40 lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: San Antonio’s four victories in the series were by an average of 18 points, with the lowest margin being 15. … The Heat are just the fourth team to play in at least four consecutive NBA Finals, the others being the Boston Celtics (twice, 1957-66 and 1984-87) and Los Angeles Lakers (1982-85). … Leonard averaged 23 points and 9.3 rebounds over the last three games after averaging nine points and two rebounds over the first two contests.