The San Antonio Spurs cruised to another rout of the back-to-back defending champion Miami Heat, 104-87, in Game Five to clinch their fifth NBA title in franchise history.
The Spurs, whose four wins came at an average margin of 18 points, closed out the series, 4-1, in front of their own home crowd.
Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds while Manu Ginobili and Patty Mills, who hit five three-pointers in the game, came off the bench to score 19 and 17, respectively.
Tony Parker, who was held scoreless for almost three-fourths of the game, finished with 16 points while Tim Duncan had 14 points and eight rebounds.
It was the fifth championship for the Spurs’ franchise after winning in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007.
LeBron James posted 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Heat, who were in their fourth consecutive finals, but fell woefully short in the lopsided Game Five.
James came out with plenty of urgency as he led the Heat to a 22-6 start en route to a 29-22 lead after the first period.
The four-time MVP had 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks after the first 12 minutes.
The Spurs, who had torching hot starts in Games Three and Four, shot only 28.6% in the first period.
But San Antonio put things together in the second quarter behind veterans Duncan and Ginobili.
With Duncan already scoring four points in a 9-0 run by the Spurs, Ginobili scored five straight points on a layup, a split from the line and a dunk to make it 14 unanswered for the Western Conference champs.
James scored near the basket to snap the Spurs’ run but Ginobili responded with another basket – a three-pointer this time – to give San Antonio an eight-point lead, 45-37, late in the half.
Leonard led the Spurs with 15 points at the break while Ginobili had 14.
James had 20 points at the half after scoring just three points in the second period.
The Spurs would not slow down in the third quarter. They opened the period with a 9-2 run behind scoring from four different players.
But that’s when Mills caught fire from beyond the arc.
The Australian guard sandwiched a Chris Bosh layup between two three-pointers before Ginobili, who set up the second three with an assist, knocked down one of his own as San Antonio made it a whopping 21-point lead, 65-44, after an 18-4 run.
Miami responded four straight points from James and Mario Chalmers but Mills connected on another three-pointer.
The Spurs’ backup then added another one – his fourth of the quarter and fifth for the game – a few minutes later to keep the Spurs lead at 20 points, 73-53, late in the third.
Parker scored his first points, a 16-foot pull-up jumper, with 15.6 seconds remaining after going 0-for-10 to start the game.
Miami, which scored 29 points in the first quarter, could only score 29 in the second and third combined.
The Heat scored the first four points to cut the deficit down to just 14 points, 77-63, early in the fourth.
But with Parker finding his groove – scoring 12 of 15 Spurs’ points in one stretch – San Antonio would have an answer for everything Miami threw at them, keeping the lead near the 20-point mark even as the teams pulled their starters from the contest.
Leonard, who serenaded by MVP chants from the San Antonio crowd since the first quarter, averaged 23.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in the last three games – all of them Spurs wins.
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