The San Antonio Spurs Fulfill America's Schadenfreude, Beat Miami for the NBA Title

Following last year's devastating loss in the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs got revenge on the Miami Heat in savage fashion, winning their fifth championship in 15 years. The Spurs capped off their most recent and most unlikely title run with a 104-87 victory at home against a Miami team that seemed diffident and listless throughout the series. 

Last year's exhilarating Finals, which went the full seven games, was a far cry from this year's rout in which the Spurs only needed five games and won both matches on the road in Miami.

If there's one moment in that encapsulated the entire series, it was in the first half of the deciding game. On the way to erasing a 16-point Miami lead, 36-year-old Spurs guard Manu Ginóbili barrels his way through the lane (and possibly travels) to dunk on Chris Bosh, a man both six years his junior and six inches taller.  

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Before the game, Chris Bosh had more or less guaranteed a Miami victory. 

Arrogance, excellence, and hubris have come to define Miami, which had its run of four-consecutive NBA Finals appearances bookended by a loss. In between, the team won two titles and seemed poised to become the fourth team to manage a three-peat. But the Spurs prevailed. Star forward/center Tim Duncan became the first player to win a title in three different decades, coach Gregg Popovich became the fifth coach to win five titles, and much of the basketball-watching country is satisfied.

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/06/the-san-antonio-spurs-fulfill-american-schadenfreude-beat-miami-for-the-nba-title/372815/

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