The Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 Thursday to claim the National Basketball Association championship, the first in the LeBron James era.
James finished with 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds and was named the most valuable player of the NBA finals. Two of James's fellow “Big Three” players also finished in double digits — Chris Bosh with 23 points, and Dwayne Wade scored 20 points. The Heat got a stellar performance from Mike Miller, who went 7-for-8 from three-point range to finish with 23 points.
Miami took the best-of-seven championship series 4-1, to win the second NBA championship in franchise history, its first coming in 2006.
Kevin Durant scored 32 points to lead Oklahoma City, one of the youngest teams in the NBA.
The win vindicates James's controversial move from his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, to join Wade and Bosh in Miami, and redeems his poor play in last season's finals, when the Heat fell to the Dallas Mavericks. James also fell short in his other previous appearance in the NBA finals, when his Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2007 Finals.
