NBA 2020: Los Angeles Lakers beat Miami Heat to win title

The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by superstar LeBron James triple-double, dominated the Miami Heat 106-93 to win a record-equaling 17th NBA Championship but their first in a decade.

James added another chapter to an epic career, delivering 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists as he captured his fourth NBA title with a third different team as well as earning NBA Finals Most Valuable Player honors for the fourth time.

Anthony Davis, playing in his first title series after years of frustration in New Orleans, added 19 points and 15 rebounds as the Lakers completed a four-games-to-two triumph in the best-of-seven championship series more than eight months after the death in a helicopter crash of team legend Kobe Bryant – who led the Lakers to their last title in 2010.

The series in the NBA’s quarantine bubble in Orlando, Florida, capped not only an emotional season for the Lakers with the loss of talisman Bryant but a season of uncertainty and upheaval for the NBA as players grappled with the coronavirus pandemic and the demands for social and racial justice sweeping across the United States. 

The Heat, who had stunned the Lakers on Friday on the back of Jimmy Butler’s gritty triple-double, couldn’t produce another miracle in the face of Los Angeles’ stifling defense. Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Butler and Jae Crowder added 12 apiece, but Miami simply had no answer for the knockout blow Los Angeles delivered in the first half.

 

NBA 2018: Golden State Warriors beat Cleveland Cavaliers to win title

The Golden State Warriors earned their NBA Title in four seasons after completing a comprehensive 4-0 series win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coach Steve Kerr described the triumph as “the hardest so far” but his Warriors side routed the Cavs 108-84 to prevail in the fourth consecutive finals meeting between the teams.

Stephen Curry scored 37 points for the Warriors, while LeBron James claimed 23 in what could be his final Cavs game. The 33-year-old American, playing in his eighth consecutive finals, said he had "no idea at this point" about his future and would consider the decision with his family.

The win added to the Golden State Warriors' victories in 2015 and 2017 and was the first finals clean sweep since the Cavs were demolished by San Antonio Spurs in 2007. It was the second time the Warriors have secured the championship in Cleveland during Kerr's four-year tenure. A James slam dunk had Cleveland ahead 39-38 halfway through the second quarter, but Golden State responded to lead 61-52 at half-time and eased to victory from there.

Curry top scored but it was Kevin Durant who was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row, adding 20 points, 12 rebounds and a post-season career high of 10 assists. It was the 28th consecutive play-off game in which he has scored at least 20 points. While Golden State are building one of the great basketball dynasties, Cleveland's future is clouded by uncertainty.

James, widely regarded as the greatest player of his generation, is expected to leave for a second time, having returned to the franchise in 2014 after departing for Miami four years earlier. The three-time champion revealed he had played the last three matches with a broken right hand, sustained after he scored his best play-off points haul of 51 in the opener.