Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City [68-14] vs 3. Portland [56-26]
Results
POR @ OKC - 104-122
POR @ OKC - 100-105
OKC @ POR - 125-118
OKC @ POR - 106-104
Oklahoma City wins series 4-0
Eastern Conference
1. Miami [63-19] vs 2. New Jersey [52-30]
Results
NJN @ MIA - 76-84
NJN @ MIA - 117-124
MIA @ NJN - 145-140
MIA @ NJN - 92-97
NJN @ MIA - 129-133
Miami wins series 4-1
1. Oklahoma City [68-14] vs 1. Miami [63-19]
It's becoming tradition for Oklahoma City and Miami to meet in the NBA Finals these days. For the third straight season they will face-off for the title.
The Thunder have the bragging rights from the first two encounters and will go in favourites given the 25 game winning streak they are currently on.
They finished the season with a 13 game winning run and have swept Dallas, San Antonio and Portland these playoffs to reach this stage.
Miami on the other hand have lost four games on their way past Detroit, Orlando and New Jersey. But they are more then ready for this challenge.
They have been waiting almost a year for this and will not let a few extra games disrupt them from their ultimate goal of winning a championship.
In a way this is the series that we had to have. In the past three seasons these two teams have been several classes above everyone else.
The Thunder have won an amazing 241 of their last 298 games (81%), whilst the Heat aren't far behind with 223 of their last 300 (74%).
In the last three seasons the Thunder have finished with records of 62-20, 67-15 and 68-14. Miami have had 59-23, 61-21 and 63-19.
And more proof of the closeness of the growing rivalry would be the regular season games over the past three years.
They've played each other twice per season in the last three years and have split the season series 1-1 each time.
There are many side stories in this series. The Lopez twins going head to head and former Thunder players like Krstic and Law lining up for the Heat.
Then there are the veteran guys like Grant Hill, Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal on the Thunder bench looking for one last chance at getting a ring.
Not to mention the biggest ring-chaser of them all LeBron James. Since his move from Cleveland he has fallen short of an elusive ring twice.
A heart-warming story that could easily be forgotten is that of local hero Blake Griffin suiting up in the NBA Finals for his hometown team.
Oklahoma City only have 2 players left from the 2010 series and 4 from last year. Miami have 6 from the 2010 series and nearly everyone from last year.
We all know how the starters match up against each other, so it may well come down to how the bench guys perform against their opposite numbers.
George Hill vs Mario Chalmers, Marvin Williams vs Travis Outlaw, Andrea Bargnani vs Robin Lopez. They could be decisive battles during this series.
Especially for Miami given that no-one outside of their 'big three' is averaging double figures for scoring, compared to the Thunder's five players.
Season series: Tied 1-1
25/3/12 - MIA @ OKC - 125-104
17/4/12 - OKC @ MIA - 119-113
Stats Leaders
Thunder
Points:
Kevin Durant - 24.8
Blake Griffin - 24.5
James Harden - 16.8
Assists:
Blake Griffin - 8.0
Russell Westbrook - 6.8
George Hill - 3.8
Rebounds:
Brook Lopez - 8.3
Blake Griffin - 6.3
Kevin Durant - 4.3
Heat
Points:
Chris Bosh - 36.6
LeBron James - 24.2
Dwyane Wade - 18.0
Assists:
LeBron James - 7.1
Mario Chalmers - 5.6
Dwyane Wade, Acie Law - 3.7
Rebounds:
Chris Bosh - 14.7
Udonis Haslem - 9.5
LeBron James - 5.9
Oklahoma City
Starters
Bench
Inactive
Miami
Starters
Bench
Inactive
Andrew wrote:What a game by Griffin! Tremendous start to the series, just three wins away from three in a row. How many points did LeBron score in the fourth quarter?
1. Oklahoma City [68-14] vs 1. Miami [63-19]
Many thought that Oklahoma City were likely to beat Miami in the Finals for the third straight season, but no-one would have dared predict a sweep.
But that's exactly what the Thunder managed to do, against a team that had only lost 23 games this season before this series no less.
In doing so they have achieved something special. They are the first team in NBA history to win the championship without dropping a single game.
The Thunder join the Bulls and Lakers as three-peat champions in the last two decades. Worryingly for the competition they are still a young side.
Durant and Lopez are 24, whilst Griffin, Westbrook and Harden are just 23 years old. They certainly have a bigger window than Miami.
For Miami, their 'big 3' experiment has been successful so far without winning anything. They may look to change some things in the off-season.
Thunder Rings
Of the 34 players involved in Oklahoma City's championships over the past 3 seasons, only Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have played in them all.
3 rings
Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook
2 rings
Shannon Brown, Serge Ibaka, Byron Mullens, Brook Lopez, James Harden
1 ring
Erick Dampier, Jeff Green, OJ Mayo, Jamario Moon, Nenad Krstic, Acie Law, Daequan Cook, Patrick O'Bryant, Sasha Vujacic,
Brook Lopez, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, Wesley Matthews, Hasheem Thabeet, Sonny Weems, Ronald Murray, Rocco Roe, Blake Griffin,
Shaquille O'Neal, Ryan Gomes, George Hill, Allen Iverson, Andrea Bargnani, Marvin Williams, Grant Hill, Al Cunningham, Eric Bledsoe
Byron Mullens 2 rings > LeBron 0 rings
Results
MIA @ OKC - 101-121
MIA @ OKC - 112-120
OKC @ MIA - 111-106
OKC @ MIA - 112-107
Thunder wins series 4-0
Finals MVP
Blake Griffin - Oklahoma City
23.9 PPG - 7.1 RPG - 8.7 APG - 1.8 BPG - 1.4 SPG
Route to the title
Record: 16-0
1st Round - Dallas - 4-0
Semi Finals - San Antonio - 4-0
West Finals - Portland - 4-0
NBA Finals - Miami - 4-0
**/7/12
O'Neal and Iverson amongst 2012 RetireesRichard Hamilton - 34 - Detroit Pistons
Drafted: 1999 - Pick 7
Teams
Washington (1999-2002), Detroit (2002-2012)
Achievements
NBA Champion (2004)
3x All-Star (2006, 2007, 2008)Andre Miller - 36 - New Orleans Hornets
Drafted: 1999 - Pick 8
Teams
Cleveland (1999–2002), LA Clippers (2002–2003), Denver (2003–2006), Philadelphia (2006–2009), Portland (2009–2011), New Orleans (2011-2012)
Achievements
NBA All-Rookie First Team (2000)Shaquille O'Neal - 40 - Oklahoma City
Drafted: 1992 - Pick 1
Teams
Orlando (1992–1996), LA Lakers (1996–2004), Miami (2004–2008), Phoenix (2008–2009), Cleveland (2009–2010), Boston (2010–2011), Oklahoma City (2012)
Achievements
5x NBA Champion (Lakers - 2000, 2001, 2002), Heat (2006), Thunder (2012)
15x All-Star (1993-1998, 2000-2007, 2009)
League MVP (2000)
3x NBA Finals MVP (2000-2002)
2x Scoring Champion (1995, 2000)
Rookie of the Year (1993)
3x All-Star game MVP (2000, 2004, 2009)
8× All-NBA First Team (1998, 2000–2006)
2× All-NBA Second Team (1995, 1999)
4× All-NBA Third Team (1994, 1996–1997, 2009)
3× All-Defensive Second Team (2000–2001, 2003)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1993)Allen Iverson - 37 - Oklahoma City
Drafted: 1996 - Pick 1
Teams
Philadelphia (1996–2006), Denver (2006–2008), Detroit (2008–2009), Denver (2009), Memphis (2009), Philadelphia (2009–2010), Oklahoma City (2012)
Achievements
NBA Champion (2012)
League MVP (2001)
Rookie of the Year (1997)
10x All-Star (2000-2009)
4x Scoring Champion (1999, 2001-2002, 2005)
2x All-Star MVP (2001, 2005)
3× All-NBA First Team (1999, 2001, 2005)
3× All-NBA Second Team (2000, 2002–2003)
All-NBA Third Team (2006)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (1997)Derek Fisher - 38 - Orlando Magic
Drafted: 1996 - Pick 24
Teams
LA Lakers (1996–2004), Golden State (2004–2006), Utah (2006–2007), LA Lakers (2007-2011), Orlando (2011-2012)
Achievements
4x NBA Champion (2000-02, 2009)Jason Terry - 34 - Portland Trail Blazers
Drafted: 1999 - Pick 10
Teams
Atlanta (1999–2004), Dallas (2004-2011), Portland (2011-2012)
Achievements
Sixth man of the Year (2009)
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2000)Raja Bell - 35 - Utah Jazz
Drafted: 1999 - Undrafted
Teams
Philadelphia (2001–2002), Dallas (2002–2003), Utah (2003–2005), Phoenix (2005–2008), Charlotte (2008–2009), Golden State (2009–2010), Utah (2010–2012)
Achievements
NBA All-Defensive First Team (2007)
NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2008)
Those deciding to carry on their NBA careers include:
Grant Hill (40), Jason Kidd (39), Steve Nash (38), Ray Allen (37), Tim Duncan (36), Antawn Jamison (36) Chauncey Billups (36), Kevin Garnett (36)
Paul Pierce (35), Vince Carter (35), Manu Ginobili (35), Kobe Bryant (34), Dirk Nowitzki (34), Mike Bibby (34), Jermaine O'Neal (34), Stephen Jackson (34)
Tracy McGrady (33), Hedo Turkoglu (33), Baron Davis (33), Lamar Odom (33), Rashard Lewis (33) and Michael Redd (33).
Lamrock wrote:Congrats on the perfect title run. Especially since you faced some tough teams to get there.
shadowgrin wrote:Mike Miller is Tebowing!
I like the angle of that last vid, feels like I'm in the arena too and part of the crowd.
qfrmcpt310 wrote:Congratulations on the 3-peat and the undefeated run through the postseason. On that note i'll leave you with a Bill Walton quote, "This Oklahoma City Thunder team will go down in lore as the most dominant team of the 20th and 21st century in all of professional sports."
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