Heat vs. Spurs, NBA Finals 2014 Game 5: San Antonio rallies to clinch 5th NBA title

With a new Larry O’Brien trophy to confirm the franchise’s consistent excellence, what’s next for the Spurs?

Duncan has a deadline of June 24 to exercise his $10 million player option to continue his career with the Spurs. Age hasn’t looked like a factor for Duncan, who averaged 15.4 points and 10 rebounds through five NBA Finals games. An opt-in would be a quick and easy answer for San Antonio.

ABC picked up a emotional moment between Kawhi Leonard and Gregg Popovich on Suday night. The audio feels strangely intimate and maybe as close as we can get to knowing what you feel after winning an NBA title.

Sports feelings are the best feelings!

The Heat pushed way ahead early in Game 5, but it proved to be their final punch. The Spurs responded like the five-time champions they are, and Miami had nothing left. In the end, it was another Spurs blowout and a fifth title for Tim Duncan.

This is happy noise -- for now anyway -- and this is what it sounds like when San Antonio wins a championship. An hour later as I sit down in my hotel room to re-live the evening things are just getting started. The River Walk is jammed, helicopters hover overhead and the horns. Good god, the horns. They will go long into the night.

I was skipping all that for one of the oldest and lamest clichés in the book: the sports bar scene when a team wins a championship. But this was no ordinary bar and the Spurs are no ordinary team. They are everything here, the only pro franchise in town and a source of great pride and admiration.

That’s how you can tell some NBA feat is truly difficult: it’s one the Spurs have never accomplished. For the Heat to win two straight titles in 2012 and 2013 is something special.

They were not close to winning a third. After a weird set of games in San Antonio to open the Finals, the Spurs blew out Miami three straight times for the championship. Miami even opened up a ponderous 22-6 lead in the first quarter of Game 5, but the Spurs punch back hard and knocked the Heat out in the third quarter by taking a double-digit lead that thoroughly broke Miami.

The typically stoic Leonard showed a rare bit of emotion after being announced as the MVP:

Leonard was especially impressive once the series moved to Miami for Game 3, going off for an incredible 29-point performance as San Antonio took over the series. He continued that brilliance in the next two games, going 20-10 twice as the Spurs finished off a truly special season.

San Antonio shot 12-of-26 from three-point land on the night. Thanks to Ginobili and Mills, the Spurs’ reserves outscored the Heat’s subs by 23 points. San Antonio also got it done with defense, holding Miami to just 40-percent shooting.

The Heat opened up a 22-6 lead, but the Spurs came roaring back thanks to hot three-point shooting. Miami did stabilize a bit after its lead was trimmed to four, pushing the margin back out to nine at the end of the quarter. James scored 17 points in the opening frame and also put in strong work on the defensive end.

Here are some things about Leonard’s giant hands that you might now have known:

Would you like an alternate angle?

Boris Diaw’s hand movements are absolutely mesmerizing. I’m getting dizzy just watching this.

Tony Parker got called for a foul and could hardly believe his luck. Coincidentally this is the exact same look a person has when they drop a birthday cake on the floor moments before it’s supposed to be served.

It got us thinking about a few more things Tony would be shocked by.

If this was soccer, Shane Battier and Manu Ginobili would pick up dueling yellow cards. (More accurately: one, and not the other, would get booked, causing the other team to freak out.) Instead, Battier picked up the offensive foul and both parties moved on. Those are two people you’d least expect to get in each other’s faces.

LeBron: Still the best player in the world.

Chalmers has struggled for most of the postseason, but he has been especially ineffective in the Finals. The point guard is averaging just 3.5 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 27.8 percent against San Antonio.

Allen has played pretty well in the Finals, averaging 11.0 points while shooting 48.5 percent overall and 42.1 percent from three. With Allen starting over Chalmers, the Heat will run without a point guard to start the game.

SAN ANTONIO -- The Heat stayed in Miami on Friday, which presented a bit of a dilemma for Saturday’s off-day plans. Reporters trudged out to the Spurs’ practice facility around 10 a.m. to meet with the Spurs. A little after noon, we left the gym for a few hours and came back around 4 for the Heat, who were coming straight from the airport. Predictably, and grumpily, they were about 45 minutes late.

The press corps was notably thinned out by this time, but there were enough of us on hand to play our favorite game: getting inside people’s heads and reading between the lines. Depending on your perspective, the Heat were either annoyed and a touch defiant, or resigned and frustrated.

The Spurs’ offense has been precise, patiently picking apart the Heat’s defense. San Antonio’s variety of ball-handlers repeatedly driving into the teeth of the Heat’s defense has created open shot opportunities. Miami’s high-pressure defense has been unorganized while San Antonio forces them into constant motion.

Game time: 8 p.m. ET

“I don’t have any plans on doing anything,” Duncan said. “I’m going to figure it out when it comes. I’m not saying I’m retiring. I’m not saying I’m not retiring. I’m not saying anything. I’m going to figure it out as it goes. I’ve always said if I feel like I’m effective, if I feel like I can contribute, I’ll continue to play. Right now I feel that way, so we’ll see what happens.”

Duncan has an early termination option on the final year of his contract, and ESPN reported that he has until June 24 to tell the Spurs about his plans. Most option decisions take place around June 30 when the league enters into a moratorium before beginning the new business year, but Duncan’s earlier call would give the Spurs a little more time to execute their offseason plan.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

FINALE OF THE FINALS? The Spurs can end the Finals with a home win Sunday night. It’d complete a stunning rout of the two-time champions, if so. Or the Heat’s comeback trail could begin in earnest. Let’s find out. 8 p.m. ET on ABC.