Spurs beat Heat to win fifth NBA title

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Miami Heat 104-87 on June 15 to capture their fifth NBA championship and deny the Heat a third straight title.

Fueled by the disappointment of a seven-game loss to the Heat in last year's finals, the top-seeded Spurs throttled the two-time defending champions in the final three games to take the best-of-seven title series four games to one.

"We remember what happened last year and how it felt in that locker room and we used it and built on it and got back here and it's amazing," Spurs center Tim Duncan said. "It makes last year OK." 

San Antonio also won titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. With this win they became the first team since the Detroit Pistons in 1989 to win the title after falling in game seven of the finals the previous year.

The Spurs lost the last two games of the 2013 finals after being up 3-2. They led with 28 seconds to go in game six last year but let the contest slip through their fingers.

"Last year's loss was devastating," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "A day didn't go by where I didn't think about game six. "So I think in general for the group to have the fortitude that they showed to get back to this spot speaks volumes about what kind of fibre they have."  

Popovich claimed his fifth ring and now trails just Phil Jackson (11) and Red Auerbach (nine) for the most in history. Pat Riley and John Kundla also have five titles.

"Us having that experience and going through that loss pushed us even harder this year," said 22-year-old Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the finals.

Leonard led the Spurs in scoring in the final three blowout wins that followed Miami's only victory in the series in game...