The Miami Heat won the first championship since their Big Three Era began, but in an odd turn of events, the clinching game didn't exclusively involve the Big Three. Sure, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were all very good, but it was Mike Miller who had a standout performance to help clinch the series.
NBA Finals: Thunder Undone By Ghost Of Mike Miller
Miller has been a non-factor, basically, since taking his talents to South Beach. Our friends at Welcome To Loud City even went so far as to surmise that the Oklahoma City Thunder wanted Miller to have to beat them .... and then he did.
The Heat shot 14-26 from 3-point range. More specifically, Mike Miller, he of nagging injuries and a running gait that made him look like he would need a chiropractor at any moment, hit 7 of 8 3-pointers on the night on his way to 23 points.
As messed up as the Thunder defense looked in Game 5, it was still predicated on one basic tenet - the goal was to keep the ball out of LeBron and Wade’s hands and make the Heat shooters beat the defense. I have to think that the Thunder went into the game thinking, “make guys like Mike Miller beat us.” Well, Mike Miller beat them. I don’t know if anyone could have seen that coming, but Miller played the game of his life in the biggest moment of his life, and by the end of the 3rd quarter the Thunder defense was in shambles.
It just goes to show how hard the Heat were to beat this season -- even when the Thunder were able to somehow cancel out the stars, the role players played better than anyone could have expected.
There’s always next year, Thunder fans.
For more on the Heat, head over to Peninsula Is Mightier and SB Nation Tampa Bay. ForThunder news and notes, visit Welcome To Loud City. And for news, analysis and everything else revolving around the NBA Playoffs, be sure to visit SB Nation’s dedicated NBA hub.
See More:
