USA - Parker earns his spurs as San Antonio claim title

CLEVELAND (NBA) - France star Tony Parker scored 24 points en route to winning MVP honours and Tim Duncan added 12 and 15 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs scored an 83-82 victory over the Cavaliers and their fourth NBA championship since 1999.

Manu Ginobili added 27 points for the Spurs, who completed their first sweep in the NBA Finals, eighth in league history and first since the Los Angeles Lakers had their way with the New Jersey Nets in 2002.

The Spurs withstood a frantic run by Cleveland in the final period, but then turned on the jets and sprinted to the finish line.

Trailing, 60-52, heading into the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers scored the first 11 points of the period to take a 63-60 lead.

San Antonio then went on a 14-3 run, capped by Fabricio Oberto's layup with two minutes left to make it 74-66.

Time would become a factor as the Cavaliers poured in some points in the waning seconds but it would be too little, too late.

"It made it sweeter for them to make a run, for us to answer, for us to keep our composure and to find a way to win, no matter what," Duncan said afterwards.

"(The Cavaliers) played great in that fourth quarter. They outscored us in the fourth quarter as they did most of the series.

"We made plays, we just found a way to get it done."

It was more heavy lifting for LeBron James, who continued to get swarmed by an overloaded San Antonio defense.

James, who had 24 points and 10 assists on 10-of-30 shooting, also became a father for the second time early Thursday morning.

"(My performance) definitely could have been better," James said.

"It could have been better in order for us to win. You know, if I don't play well, our team is not going to have a chance to win. I've got a lot of things to work on to get better for next year."

It was also Cleveland's first four-game skid of the campaign.

After two demoralising defeats in Games One and Two, the Cavaliers returned home for their first NBA Finals home game in franchise history.

With a rabid fan base spurring them on, Cleveland finally played a competitive game - even if it was an ugly contest - but dropped a rugged 75-72 decision on Tuesday.

James had a chance to tie the game on its controversial final play.

The young superstar hoisted a potential game-tying three-pointer that skimmed off the front rim as he was being grabbed by San Antonio guard Bruce Bowen.

After the contest, James refused to blame the loss on the non-call, saying it was "incidental contact" and not the only reason for the defeat.

It was more of the same in another close loss on Thursday.

"You're definitely disappointed," James said. "I'm not disappointed in our effort the last two games, not at all. I think we played well. We definitely just faced a
better team in this series, simple as that."

During Wednesday's media session, the All-Star swingman implored his team to "still believe," echoing the words of coach Mike Brown, who acknowledged that no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit, but said there is a first time for everything.

But it did not work out that way, and Brown admitted that it was just too much from the Spurs.

"You've got to give San Antonio credit," he said. "It's a (heck) of a team. They did everything they needed to do in order to win basketball games, (Thursday) and the three games before."

Cleveland showed some fortitude in the opening period, taking a 20-19 lead into the second quarter, despite 10 points from Spurs speedster Parker.

The Cavaliers were led by James, who scored six points in the period, two on an emphatic slam to make it 20-19 - only his second dunk of the series.

San Antonio pressed on in the second quarter, coming to life and outscoring Cleveland, 20-14, in the period to take a 39-34 lead at half-time.

However, the Spurs made headway without an effective Duncan, who scored just two points in the first half, shooting 0-of-5 from the field and 2-of-6 from the free-throw line.

Duncan got going in the third for San Antonio, who outscored Cleveland, 21-18, in the period, precluding an exciting fourth quarter.

Ian Parker
FIBA