It was a night of joy for the San Antonio Spurs for the fourth time in nine years, a chance to begin to walk with giants.
There wasn’t a wild celebration, not with this Spurs team that won the 2007 NBA Finals with an 83-82 victory Thursday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a series sweep. Ask these Spurs about their success and you usually hear about their effort.
That effort once again defined the Spurs, who fell behind in the fourth quarter but dug back with a half dozen fourth quarter offensive rebounds. They had four in one sequence that allowed them to expand a three-point lead with less than three minutes left with a three-point play. They had two more with less than a minute remaining that led to a Manu Ginobili driving basket that gave them a 76-69 lead and effectively clinched the championship.
“I feel very proud and honored to be an important part of this franchise,” said Ginobili, who had 13 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter. “We know we are probably the best team in the last 10, eight years. It shows the hard work and the way we played.”
As the saying goes, make way for the man who boldly pushes past you.
The Spurs did that despite a struggling Tim Duncan. He had only 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting but contributed 15 rebounds, including three big ones on the offensive end down the stretch.
“That perseverance is what defines this team,” Duncan said. “We find a way to get it done when we have to get it done.”
This time it was behind point guard Tony Parker, who averaged a team high 24.5 points on 57 percent shooting in the series and kept the Spurs ahead much of the game with 24 points. Parker won the series MVP award, the first time in the Spurs’ four championships it didn’t go to Duncan
“It’s like a dream,” Parker said in accepting the MVP trophy from NBA Commissioner David Stern on the court after the game. “I was watching Michael Jordan every year [win the MVP] when I was small and to [get this] is special.”
Despite the offensive contributions from its stars, it was the active, aggressive Spurs team defense that really did in the Cavs. It squeezed and overwhelmed Cavaliers star LeBron James, who shot 10 of 30 for 24 points and had 10 assists. James ended the series averaging 22 points on 35.6 percent shooting while the Cavs averaged just 80.5 points, an all-time low for a four-game Finals series.
“It was our team defense,” Duncan said. “It was Bruce Bowen sitting on [James] for 40-some odd minutes every night. It was our guys understanding he wasn’t able to do it himself. We outlasted them.”
With the Spurs, it’s always a team effort.
Almost to a man, they talked about how happy they were for Michael Finley to get his first NBA championship. Robert Horry got his seventh championship ring. Duncan spanned the eras in leading the Spurs to titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007.
“[He is] the common thread, the common denominator for the whole group,” coach Gregg Popovich said.
Stern called the Spurs “a team for the ages” and placed them “among the pantheon of great teams in NBA history.”
They are something of the postage stamp of basketball. They stick to it until they get there, losing in a seventh game at home in the conference semifinals last year and then coming back with the single-mindedness of a champion.
The Cavs had to endure it in a sweep, unable to penetrate the Spurs defense while shooting 39.5 percent. They scored more than 35 points in just one of the games’ first halves, never as many as 40.
“I could have played better,” James said. “Their defensive intensity and some of the things they did kept me and the team off guard. If I don’t play better it’s hard for us to win. We played a better team. San Antonio was the better team.”
Is it one of the best ever?
Their triumph opens the way for the Spurs to be considered among the basketball immortals — the Celtics, Lakers and Bulls dynasties.
This team still could do more with their core of success and ability that has been measured against the best for an era and still stands tall.
The Cavs came out fast, as expected, but the Spurs pulled within 20-19 after one quarter and ahead 39-34 at halftime.
The Spurs seemed relentless and victory inevitable in going ahead by 11 in the third quarter behind Parker and leading 60-52 going into the fourth.
But the Spurs missed seven straight shots to open the fourth quarter with three turnovers and fell behind 61-60 on a James finger roll with seven minutes left. But the Spurs, once again, persevered and overcame that run.
“I think they have a dynasty already at work,” James said. “They don’t have the greatest athletes in the world. They don’t have the greatest shooters in the world. But they have probably the greatest team in the world, and that’s what this sport is all about.”
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sasmith@tribune.com
