On June 21, Lebron James and the rest of the Miami Heat basketball team stunned NBA fans with a magnificent win over the Western Conference Finals champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, earning the franchise’s second NBA championship and James’s first championship ring. “King” James has now rightfully earned his moniker and place in NBA history by finishing off the night with an astounding triple-double, double digits in scoring, rebounds, and assists, and a Game 5 win with a final score of 121-106.
Since the game started with an auspicious start for the Heat: a vicious dunk by James, it captivated and held the attention of basketball fans worldwide. The game was dynamic and exciting; the definition of an NBA Finals game. The Heat started Game 5 after leading the series 3-1 with three straight wins. No team in NBA history has ever recovered from a 3-1 record in the Finals and the Thunder are no exception.
However, OKC (Oklahoma City) put up a good fight and certainly challenged the Heat to play their best. Unfortunately for the Thunder, when the pressure was turned up, the Heat reacted exceptionally and the whole team, including the bench players performed beyond expectations. “When Miami’s role players were in trouble, the bench players showed up and really helped them either increase a lead or get a run,” said Jeffrey Jun, a student at Gyeonggi-Suwon International School, “The main problem was OKC’s bench didn’t show up like they did in the series before.”
A problem both teams encountered was turnovers. Although OKC had one less turnover than Miami who had 14, the Thunder were not able to take advantage of the Heat’s turnovers and their steals became empty possessions. On the other hand, Miami was able to flip OKC’s turnovers into points which gave them a lead throughout most of the game.
The Heat had a number of players who stepped up in Game 5 including some of their lesser-known players. Mike Miller, a veteran shooting guard who made 7 out of 8 outstanding three-point shots and contributed 23 points to the team. The “Big Three,” Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and James had a combined total of 70 points of the Heat’s overall 121, which shows exactly how big of an impact the supporting cast of the Heat had.
James played very humbly and always tried to make plays instead of simply scoring. “Lebron didn’t shoot from the perimeter as much; he drove and posted and dished the ball to an open player,” said Jun. Last season’s loss against the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals influenced James to play, in his own words, “basketball with love instead of playing to prove something to the critics.”
Both teams pulled their starters from the court with three minutes left to play and from then on, the celebration began. James was dancing for joy with his teammates at the realization that they were now NBA champions while Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden, the main players of the Thunder team, shared a moment of disappointment and sadness. However, the Thunder is a young team and it is doubtless they will be seen in the playoffs in the future. As for Miami, the six-year gap between their two championships has been long and tough with many frustrations and a lot of hard work. For the fans who stuck diligently by the Heat and stayed through controversy and criticism, head coach Erik Spoelstra voiced the whole team’s thought, “Thank you for your patience.”
Jay Choi
Jay Choi is a junior at Beckman High and a new editor for the Spring Semester. An avid musician, he enjoys playing the clarinet and saxophone and listening to all types of music. He spends his free time hanging out with his friends and playing improvised jazz solos. He hopes to make a positive contribution to JSR and looks forward to the semester.
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Great article! You’re a really strong writer, and it shows in your prose!
I don’t follow sports much, to be honest, but I was able to follow your article without trouble. Your writing’s very easy to read and you show a lot of knowledge about the subject. For future reference, I’d err on the side of using less loaded words – but great job!! I really liked reading your article!