Miami Wins Game 7 Over Spurs; LeBron James Named MVP

Game 7 between The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs played out the same way the entire series had: it felt like Miami would—and should—win, but San Antonio made it closer than expected.

If you only heard the crowd during the first half you'd probably think Miami had a 10-point lead. Heat fans came prepared to make noise and made a 46-44 Miami lead at the half (thanks to a virtual buzzer beater by Dwyane Wade) seem like a Miami romp.

It may actually have been a first-half romp but for a big free-throw advantage for the Spurs, who made 14 of 15 attempts to Miami's perfect shooting on only three. Miami countered with three-point shooting. LeBron, especially, seemed to be settling for the three that San Antonio was giving him and he shot 2-4 for in the first half and continued in the second half ending up 5-10. Even Shane freaking Battier was feeling it; he was 6-8.

In about a 30-second clip in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter, LeBron lead a fast break off a Chalmers steal, barreled to the rim and dished it to Battier who sunk the three to put the Heat up 88-82. Immediately on the other end, Tim Duncan banked a turn-around shot in over Bosh and made the foul shot to bring the lead back to three at 88-85. A Wade layup brought it back up to five and then Kawhi Leonard drilled a three to bring the Spurs within two. That's the kind of game, and that's the kind of series it's been. There's barely enough room to breath.

And let's not forget LeBron. We may never be rid of the "can he do it when it matters" line of nonsense, but LeBron was cold-blooded when it mattered. With 27.9 left he put the Heat up by four again with a dagger jumper (above and in Spanish, below ) and then hit two free-throws to push it to 94-88. He was perfect from the line. When he wasn't shooting, he soared for key offensive rebounds and found open teammates. He was LeBron.

On the other end of the spectrum was Manu Ginobili. He made his bones flying around the court throwing shit up that miraculously went in and somewhere along the way things stopped miraculously going in. No more was this evident than one of San Antonio's final possessions when Manu drove to the basket and jumped, only to realize he had nowhere to go with the ball. It was a turnover and it was Miami's game.

The Heat won back-to-back championships and LeBron won back-to-back MVPs. It may never be enough, but he doesn't care. As he told Doris Burke after the game, he's "got no worries."