Lebron James' triple-double lifts Heat to NBA title

  MIAMI -- Music blared and confetti fell, the only celebration LeBron James really wanted in Miami.

Not that one two summers ago, the welcoming rally where he boasted of multiple titles, perhaps without realizing how hard it would be to win just one.

He dreamed of this moment, with teammates surrounding him and the NBA championship trophy beside him.

"You know, my dream has become a reality now, and it's the best feeling I ever had," James said.

James had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, leading the Miami Heat in a 121-106 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night to win the NBA Finals in five games.

Ripped and ridiculed for the way he announced he was leaving Cleveland and taking his talents to South Beach, it's all worth it now for James.

Best player in the game. Best team in the league.

And now, NBA champion.

"I'm happy now that eight years later, nine years later since I've been drafted, that I can finally say that I'm a champion, and I did it the right way," James said. "I didn't shortcut anything. You know, I put a lot of hard work and dedication in it, and hard work pays off. It's a great moment for myself."

And for his teammates, who watched the Dallas Mavericks celebrate on their floor last year.

James left the game along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for good with 3:01 remaining for a round of hugs and the start for a party he's been waiting for since arriving in the NBA out of high school as the No. 1 pick of the 2003 draft. James hopped up and down in the final minutes, shared a long hug with opponent Kevin Durant, and then soaked in the "MVP! MVP! chants during the raucous postgame.

"I wanted to become a champion someday," James said. "I didn't know exactly when it would happen, but I put in a lot of hard work."

He was a choker last year, the guy who came up small in the fourth quarter, mocked for "shrinking" in the moment while playing with what he called "hatred" in trying to prove his critics wrong.

He came to Miami seeking an easier road to the finals but found it tougher than he expected, the Heat coming up empty last year and nearly getting knocked out in the Eastern Conference finals this time by Boston. Facing elimination there, James poured in 45 points on the road to force a Game 7 and the Heat won it at home.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done as a basketball player," James said. "You just put a lot of hard work into it and you hope that one day it will pay off for you."

This time, with a chance to clinch, the Heat took control in the second quarter, briefly lost it and blew the game open again in the third behind their role players, James content to pass to wide-open 3-point shooters while the Thunder focused all their attention on him.

The disappointment of losing to Dallas in six games a year ago vanished in a blowout of the demoralized Thunder, who got 32 points and 11 rebounds from Durant.

Bosh and Wade, the other members of the Big Three who sat alongside James as he promised titles at his Miami welcoming party, both had strong games. Bosh, who wept as the Heat left their own court after losing Game 6 last year, finished with 24 points and Wade scored 20. The Heat also got a huge boost from Mike Miller, who made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points.

That all made it easier for James, the most heavily scrutinized player in the league since his departure from Cleveland, when he announced he was "taking his talents to South Beach" on a TV special called "The Decision" that was criticized everywhere from water coolers to the commissioner's office. James has said he wishes he handled things differently, but few who watched the Cavs fail to assemble championship talent around him could have argued with his desire to depart.

In Miami he found a team that didn't need him to do it alone, though he reminded everyone during this sensational postseason run that he still could when necessary. He got support whenever he needed it in this series, from Shane Battier's 17 points in Game 2 to Mario Chalmers' 25 in Game 4.

In the clincher it was Miller, banged up from so many injuries that he limped from the bench to scorer's table when he checked in. He made his fourth 3-pointer of the half right before James' fast-break basket capped a 15-2 run that extended Miami's lead to 53-36 with 4:42 remaining in the first half.

The Thunder were making a remarkably early trip to the finals just three years after starting 3-29, beating the Mavericks, Lakers and Spurs along the way. With Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden all 23 or younger, the Thunder have the pieces in place for a lengthy stay atop the Western Conference.

But their inexperience showed in this series, a few questionable decisions, possessions and outright mistakes costing them in their franchise's first finals appearance since Seattle lost to Chicago in 1996. Westbrook scored 19 but made only four of his 20 shots, unable to come up with anything close to his 43-point outing in Game 4, and Harden finished a miserable series with 19.

"It hurts, man," Durant said. "We're all brothers on this team and it just hurts to go out like this. We made it to the finals, which was cool for us, but we didn't want to just make it there. Unfortunately we lost, so it's tough."

Nothing they did could have stopped James, anyway.

Appearing fully recovered from the leg cramps that forced him to sit out the end of Game 4, he was dominant again, a combination of strength and speed that is practically unmatched in the game and rarely seen in its history.

Wade skipped to each side of the court before the opening tip with arms up to pump up the fans, then James showed them nothing wrong with his legs, throwing down an emphatic fast-break dunk to open the scoring. He made consecutive baskets while being fouled, showing no expression after the second, as if he'd hardly even known he was hit. Drawing so much attention from the Thunder, he started finding his wide-open shooters, and the Heat built a nine-point lead before going to the second up 31-26.

Oklahoma City got back within five early in the third before consecutive 3-pointers by Chalmers and Battier triggered a 27-7 burst that made it 88-63 on another 3-pointer by Miller. James didn't even score in the run until it was almost over, hitting a pair of free throws after he was flagrantly fouled by Derek Fisher while powering toward the basket.

Gone was the tentative player who was mocked for shrinking on the big stage last year, too willing to defer to others who didn't possess half his talents. This time, he was at peace off the court and attacking on it, vowing to have no regrets and playing in such a way they wouldn't be necessary.

Miami had outscored Oklahoma City by just 389-384 over the first four games, but the Thunder were buried under a barrage of 14 3-pointers, tying the NBA record.

"They just hit 3s after 3s. They got it going and we couldn't stop them," Thunder center Kendrick Perkins said. "Things just didn't go our way."

Notes: Miami became the third team to sweep the middle three games at home in the 2-3-2 format. The Detroit Pistons took all three from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004 before the Heat did it against Dallas in 2006. ... Coach Erik Spoelstra tied Pat Riley for the Heat franchise record with his 34th postseason win. He is 34-22, while Riley was just 34-36. ... The four-game losing streak that Oklahoma City finished the season with was its longest of the season. The Thunder had dropped three straight games to Memphis, Miami and Indiana from April 2-6.

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Wambach lifts US past France to World Cup final

  Eyewitness NewsGERMANY -- Somehow, the Americans seem to find a way to win. And more often than not, Abby Wambach has something to do with it.

With time running out and France giving the United States all it could handle and then some, Wambach's winner in the 79th minute put her teammates at ease and set off celebrations on two continents.

The 3-1 victory Wednesday night has the Americans in the World Cup final for the first time since 1999, which also just happens to be the last time the United States won soccer's biggest prize.

"It it was a privilege to take the other side of the field against a great France team," Wambach said. "However, our team has the ability to fight through adversity. Our team has the ability to stick together when the going gets rough, and I couldn't be more excited and proud."

The Americans will face Japan on Sunday in Frankfurt. The U.S.

beat Japan by 2-0 scores in a pair of warmup games a month before the World Cup, but don't make any assumptions off that. This World Cup has been anything but predictable, and it's not likely to stop until someone is holding that gold trophy.

Germany was the big favorite when the World Cup began, two-time defending champs and sure to get a boost from playing at home.

Brazil had Marta, and was due for a good result after coming up just short in the last three major tournaments. Both teams were sent packing early, not even making it to the semifinals.

Instead it was France, which had made only other World Cup appearance, and Japan in the final four along with the Americans and Sweden. And the Japanese made surprisingly easy work of Sweden, the last unbeaten team in the tournament in the other semifinal Wednesday night.

"Tonight, the Japanese were a bit more eager to win," Sweden coach Thomas Dennerby said after Japan's 3-1 victory.

The Americans knew they had doubters when they arrived in Germany. They'd lost three games since November, an alarming "bad" streak for a team that can goes years without a loss, and needed to win a playoff just to get to the World Cup.

But the players were unshakable in their belief in themselves, and that will to win has won over the entire country. Even though the game started at noon EDT, people from coast to coast skipped work or took frequent "breaks" to watch the game. Bars opened early. Neighborhoods held watch parties. At the Phoenix airport, dozens of fans crowded around TVs to watch the game.

When the final whistle blew, Hollywood celebrities, pro athletes and ordinary folks who didn't know a free kick from a corner kick just a few days ago flooded Twitter with congratulations. "My heroes. Wambach. Boxx. Rapinoe. Solo. That TEAM! Our team!" actor Tom Hanks tweeted. Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers said, "Awesome job US Women, finish it off Sunday now."

"These wins, we can't do it alone. We know a whole nation is cheering us on," Wambach said. "We believe in ourselves and we're in the final. I couldn't be happier."

A little relieved, too.

Though not quite as flashy as Brazil, France plays with a flair and creativity that is impressive to behold. Louisa Necib runs France's offense, and rarely were her passes or ideas off the mark.

Les Bleues were so cohesive that the midfield became a no man's land for the Americans; any ball that dared enter was soon in France's hands.

France was so dominant that, despite Lauren Cheney scoring in the ninth minute, the U.S. seemed to be playing from behind for most of the game.

"We didn't play well today," U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said. "However, we find a way to win and that's a credit to the players' hearts. That's what makes it so wonderful to be coach of this team."

Sundhage finally replaced Carli Lloyd with sparkplug Megan Rapinoe in the 65th minute, shifting Cheney inside and letting Rapinoe run wild on the flanks.

Just like that, the Americans had regained control.

"We didn't want to do that whole 30 minutes of overtime and (penalty kick) thing again," Rapinoe said.

The Americans were able to push forward and began threatening French goalkeeper Berangere Sapowicz. Finally, in the 79th, Cheney won a corner kick.

"I told (Cheney) at halftime, 'Put the ball to the back post, and we're going to get a goal,"' Wambach said.

Cheney delivered the ball perfectly to the far post. Just as Wambach had predicted, the 5-foot-11 forward soared over the scrum and pushed the ball past Sapowicz.

"I knew Abby was going to beat her," Cheney said, referring to the French defender who practically mugged Wambach to try and contain her.

Asked how, Cheney said, "Because she's Abby Wambach."

It was Wambach's third goal of the tournament and 12th of her career, tying fellow American Michelle Akers for third on the all-time World Cup scoring list.

And the Americans weren't done yet. Rapinoe found a streaking Alex Morgan, who outraced four defenders, collected the ball and then threw Sapowicz off with a sweet stutter-step. The goal wide open, Morgan buried the ball to put the game out of reach.

"The priority is not to accept another goal," France coach Bruno Bini said through a translator. "When that happens, you've had it. We conceded another goal and that was it for us."

Despite the loss, the World Cup was a resounding success for the French. In addition to their first semifinal appearance, they qualified for the London Olympics, where the Americans will be two-time defending champions.

That, however, is next summer.

The Americans have another title to claim first.

"We've achieved part of our goal. We're in the final," Wambach said. "We want to complete it. We want to be world champs."

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Sports »

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