Sport
Miami Heat, LeBron James on the brink of NBA Title
“I’ve been down 0-2 against San Antonio and everybody said it was over then, and we won,” Kevin Durant said. “But it’s over with. That’s old. It’s a new series. We’ve got to be ready to come out here and try to get this Game 5 tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. We’re not going to give up. We’re going to keep fighting to the end and hopefully we can take this thing back to the crib.”
The series was hyped as a James-Durant matchup, the league’s MVP against its runner-up and scoring champion, the winner earning the right to be called best player in the game. They are fairly even in the box score but James is far ahead in the only place that matters to them: the scoreboard.
And somewhat surprisingly, he’s gotten more help from supporting players, from Shane Battier’s 17 points in Game 2 to Mario Chalmers’ 25 points in Game 4, including a huge basket after James was forced from the game for good. Meanwhile, Durant has watched Sixth Man of the Year James Harden miss 16 of his 20 shots in Miami.
“You know, everyone was excited to finally get an opportunity to see two of the best players go head to head, myself and KD, but for me personally, it’s not a head-to-head battle,” James said. “When I go out on the floor, I do want to dominate the guy in front of me, but this is a team game, and I have all the trust in my teammates, and I try to do everything that needs to be done individually to help our team win.”
He couldn’t do it in either of his first two finals appearances, his Cleveland Cavaliers getting swept by the Spurs in 2007and the Heat losing to Dallas in six games last year.
James joined the Heat in 2010 after Miami convinced him that he would have enough help to win a championship, more specifically, that he wouldn’t have to carry the load by himself, like he did so many times in Cleveland over his first seven seasons. The Heat were keeping Dwyane Wade, adding Chris Bosh and filling out the roster with a mix that would be best described as unconventional.
If that axiom, more options are better, needed proof, Game 4 provided it. James could not finish the game, though he returned after the first wave of cramps hit and delivered a tiebreaking 3-pointer. With James watching the final minute, Wade and Chalmers helped close out the Thunder, Miami winning 104-98 to move one win from the franchise’s second championship.
