Miami beat Oklahoma City 121-106 to clinch title
Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh (left to right) celebrate with the trophy (left) and the MVP trophy (centre) after winning the championship in Game 5 of the NBA basketball finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Miami, Florida June 21, 2012. — Reuters picMIAMI, June 22 — The Miami Heat demolished the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 today to win the National Basketball Association championship 4-1, sweeping the last four games of the series.
LeBron James led an outstanding team effort with a brilliant all-round game, grabbing a triple-double with 26 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high 13 assists.
Six Heat players scored in double figures, including Chris Bosh with 24 and reserve Mike Miller with 23, who went 7-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc in a spectacular shooting display for the Heat.
Miami pulled away in the third quarter when they ran off 16 points in a row to build a 25-point lead and send the raucous standing-room AmericanAirlines Arena crowd into an early celebration.
It was Miami's second NBA title following a 2006 triumph and the first for three-times league Most Valuable Player James, who finally realized his dream of winning a championship ring in his third trip to an NBA Finals.
Three-times NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant led the young Thunder team with 32 points with Russell Westbrook and James Harden adding 19 points for the losers. — Reuters
