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NBA finals: Spurs 83, Cavs 82
Fantastic 4: San Antonio sweep
Spurs join the Lakers, Celtics and Bulls as NBA's only four-title franchises
Friday, June 15, 2007
CLEVELAND — True roundball royalty, the San Antonio Spurs are once again wearing the crown.
LeBron James, Cleveland's preordained King, isn't quite ready for his.
Extras
Finals MVP Tony Parker scored 24 points, Manu Ginobili had 27 — 13 in the fourth quarter — and the Spurs, who bounced over from the ABA in 1976, moved in among the NBA's greatest franchises with an 83-82 victory Thursday night for a sweep of the Cavaliers — court jesters through much of their first finals.
With their fourth championship since 1999 — and third in five years — the Spurs joined the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win four titles.
"It never gets old, it never gets old," Tim Duncan said. "Unbelievable. Such a great run, a great journey, a great bunch of guys."
And No. 5 might not be far away either with Parker, Ginobili and Duncan leading this well-oiled Texas machine. Coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, now a perfect 4-for-4 together in finals, spent most of the postseason dismissing talk that they should be considered a dynasty.
But with titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007, there's no more reason to pretend they aren't one. San Antonio's four-game sweep was the eighth since the finals began in 1947.
James had a rough introduction to the league's climactic event, one he figures to reach again. He shot just 10-of-30 in Game 4 — and only 36 percent in the series. James scored 24 points Thursday, and while he took the Cavaliers as far as they've ever gone, he failed to give them new life in this series.
Parker, who averaged 24.5 points on 57 percent shooting, became the first European-born player to be honored as MVP. Until now, he was mostly viewed as a pretty decent player with a prettier fiance, TV actress Eva Longoria.
LeBron's silver lining
His girlfriend, Savannah Brinson, gave birth to their second son, Bryce Maximus James, early Thursday. He was in the delivery room for the birth, a moment that will perhaps soften the blow of the Cavs losing the series.
