STAR
Thursday
-Manu Ginobili, Spurs, scored 27 points to lead San Antonio to an 83-82 victory over Cleveland and its fourth NBA championship.
MVP
Tony Parker scored 24 points and had seven rebounds in San Antonio’s title-clinching victory Thursday night, 83-82 over Cleveland, to win finals MVP honors. Parker averaged 24.5 points on 57 percent shooting in the four-game series for his third championship.
ALL-TIMERS
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. San Antonio clinched the title Thursday night with an 83-82 victory over Cleveland for a four-game sweep, the league’s first since the Lakers beat New Jersey in 2002.
WINNING WAYS
en or more championship rings, his second with San Antonio.
NO CROWN
LeBron James had 24 points and 10 assists, but shot just 10-of-30 from the field with six turnovers as Cleveland was swept by San Antonio in the NBA finals, losing 83-82 Thursday night.
SOARING
San Antonio’s .727 winning percentage (16-6) is the highest in finals history. The Spurs swept Cleveland for their fourth title in nine years following Thursday night’s 83-82 victory. San Antonio is 63-21 in finals games, a .750 percentage.
LOW POINT
Cleveland’s 322 points in its four-game sweep by San Antonio was the lowest total for an NBA finals series.
SITTING OUT
Cleveland point guard Larry Hughes was inactive for the second straight game with plantar fasciitis and a tear in his foot. Rookie Daniel Gibson again started in Hughes’ absence, totaling 10 points and five assists in the Cavaliers’ season-ending 83-82 loss to San Antonio in Game 4 of the NBA finals Thursday night.
TRADE
Minnesota traded disgruntled point guard Mike James and swingman Justin Reed to Houston for forward Juwan Howard, who will join his friend Kevin Garnett in the Timberwolves’ frontcourt.
JAMES GANG
Cleveland’s LeBron James became a father for the second time early Thursday when his girlfriend, Savannah Brinson, gave birth to the couple’s second son, Bryce Maximus James.
SPEAKING
“I might just put it in the bed between me and my wife.” – San Antonio’s Michael Finley, cradling the game ball during the postgame celebration of his first NBA championship, following an 83-82 victory Thursday night and four-game sweep of Cleveland.