San Antonio Spurs hammer Miami Heat to win fifth NBA championship

The San Antonio Spurs finished off a dominant run to their fifth NBA championship on Sunday, ending the Miami Heat’s two-year title reign with a 104-87 victory that wrapped up the series in five games.

A year after their heartbreaking seven-game defeat, their only loss in six finals appearances, the Spurs produced four crushing victories to deny Miami’s quest for a third straight championship.

“We remember what happened last year and how it felt in that locker room and we used it and built on it and got back here and it’s amazing,” Tim Duncan said. “It makes last year OK.”

Manu Ginobili said: “Hard to believe, isn’t it? We played at a really high level.”

Kawhi Leonard, named the Most Valuable Player, had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs. San Antonio added this title to their victories in 1999, 2003, ’05 and ’07. They nearly had another last year, but couldn’t hold off the Heat and lost in seven games.

San Antonio rebounded from an early 16-point deficit by outscoring the Heat 37-13 from the start of the second quarter to midway in the third.

LeBron James had 31 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who lost their spot atop the NBA to the team that had it so long.