2012 NBA Finals

2012 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra 4 Oklahoma City Thunder Scott Brooks 1
Dates	June 12–21
MVP	LeBron James[1] (Miami Heat)
Hall of Famers	Heat: Chris Bosh (2021)
Eastern Finals	Heat defeated Celtics, 4–3
Western Finals	Thunder defeated Spurs, 4–2
< 2011 NBA Finals 2013 >

The 2012 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2011–12 season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat defeated the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder four games to one to win their second NBA title. Heat forward LeBron James was named the Finals MVP.

The 2012 Finals marked the fourth time in franchise history that the Oklahoma City Thunder played in the NBA Finals. Previously known as the Seattle SuperSonics, the Thunder had not reached the Finals since relocating from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma before the start of the 2008–2009 season. Prior to 2012, the franchise last played in the NBA Finals in 1996 as the SuperSonics, losing to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. The 2012 Thunder team was the second-youngest NBA Finals team in history.

The 2012 Finals also marked the Miami Heat's second consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals and its third appearance overall. The Heat appeared in the Finals in 2006, defeating the Dallas Mavericks, and were defeated by the Mavericks in the 2011 Finals.

Background[]

Miami Heat[]

This was the second consecutive appearance for the Heat, after losing to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. This was also their second Finals appearance in the "Big Three" era, being led by superstar LeBron James, shooting guard Dwyane Wade, and power forward Chris Bosh.^[2] Their other Finals appearance was in 2006, when they defeated the Mavericks to win their first NBA title.^[3]

In the regular season, the Heat finished with 46 victories, then defeated the New York Knicks (4–1), Indiana Pacers (4–2) and Boston Celtics (4–3) on their way to the Finals. Along the way, they managed to overcome series deficits that nearly sent them home but they had strings of victories to let them survive. The first was against the Pacers in the Conference Semifinals when they trailed in the series, 1–2. The Heat responded by taking three straight victories to defeat the Pacers. The second was against the Celtics in the Conference Finals when they trailed, 2–3, in the series. They responded by winning a decisive game 6 in Boston, taking the last two games of the series to advance to the Finals.^[4]

The 2011-2012 Heat team included several new players that had not played for the team during its 2011 Finals run, including Shane Battier,^[5] Eddy Curry,^[6] Ronny Turiaf,^[7] and rookies Terrel Harris and Norris Cole.^[8]

Oklahoma City Thunder[]

This was the Thunder's first NBA Finals appearance since the team relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008. Including their seasons as the Seattle SuperSonics, this was also the club's fourth Finals appearance, and first since 1996, when they lost to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. The team was seeking their first NBA championship since 1979.^[9]

The Thunder finished with 47 wins, second in the Western Conference. During the playoffs, they defeated the defending champion Dallas Mavericks (4–0), the Los Angeles Lakers (4–1), and the #1 West Seed San Antonio Spurs (4–2).^[9]

The Thunder came into the Finals as the second-youngest finalists in NBA history.^[10]

Road to the Finals[]

Oklahoma City Thunder (Western Conference champion)		Miami Heat (Eastern Conference champion)
Western Conference # Team W L PCT GB GP 1 c-San Antonio Spurs * 50 16 .758 – 66 2 y-Oklahoma City Thunder * 47 19 .712 3.0 66 3 y-Los Angeles Lakers * 41 25 .621 9.0 66 4 x-Memphis Grizzlies 41 25 .621 9.0 66 5 x-Los Angeles Clippers 40 26 .606 10.0 66 6 x-Denver Nuggets 38 28 .576 12.0 66 7 x-Dallas Mavericks 36 30 .545 14.0 66 8 x-Utah Jazz 36 30 .545 14.0 66 9 Houston Rockets 34 32 .515 16.0 66 10 Phoenix Suns 33 33 .500 17.0 66 11 Portland Trail Blazers 28 38 .424 22.0 66 12 Minnesota Timberwolves 26 40 .394 24.0 66 13 Golden State Warriors 23 43 .348 27.0 66 14 Sacramento Kings 22 44 .333 28.0 66 15 New Orleans Hornets 21 45 .318 29.0 66 2nd seed in the West, 3rd best league record	Regular season		Eastern Conference # Team W L PCT GB GP 1 z-Chicago Bulls 50 16 .758 – 66 2 y-Miami Heat * 46 20 .697 4.0 66 3 x-Indiana Pacers * 42 24 .636 8.0 66 4 y-Boston Celtics 39 27 .591 11.0 66 5 x-Atlanta Hawks 40 26 .606 10.0 66 6 x-Orlando Magic 37 29 .561 13.0 66 7 x-New York Knicks 36 30 .545 14.0 66 8 x-Philadelphia 76ers 35 31 .530 15.0 66 9 Milwaukee Bucks 31 35 .470 19.0 66 10 Detroit Pistons 25 41 .379 25.0 66 11 Toronto Raptors 23 43 .348 27.0 66 12 New Jersey Nets 22 44 .333 28.0 66 13 Cleveland Cavaliers 21 45 .318 29.0 66 14 Washington Wizards 20 46 .303 30.0 66 15 Charlotte Bobcats 7 59 .106 43.0 66 2nd seed in the East, 4th best league record
Defeated the 7th seeded Dallas Mavericks, 4–0	First round		Defeated the 7th seeded New York Knicks, 4–1
Defeated the 3rd seeded Los Angeles Lakers, 4–1	Conference Semifinals		Defeated the 3rd seeded Indiana Pacers, 4–2
Defeated the 1st seeded San Antonio Spurs, 4–2	Conference Finals		Defeated the 4th seeded Boston Celtics, 4–3

Regular season series[]

The season series was tied, 1–1, with both teams winning at their home floor.

Series summary[]

Game	Date	Away team	Result	Home team
Game 1	Tuesday, June 12	Miami Heat	94–105 (0–1)	Oklahoma City Thunder
Game 2	Thursday, June 14	Miami Heat	100–96 (1–1)	Oklahoma City Thunder
Game 3	Sunday, June 17	Oklahoma City Thunder	85–91 (1–2)	Miami Heat
Game 4	Tuesday, June 19	Oklahoma City Thunder	98–104 (1–3)	Miami Heat
Game 5	Thursday, June 21	Oklahoma City Thunder	106–121 (1–4)	Miami Heat

Game summaries[]

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)^[11]

Game 1[]

The Thunder defeated the Heat, 105–94, in Game 1. Miami held the lead for most of the first three quarters, including a 13-point lead at one point during the second quarter. The Heat made five three-pointers to jump to a 29–22 lead by the end of the first quarter, but Oklahoma City kept on pace with Miami to keep the score at 54–47 by halftime. The Thunder then took the lead for good with 16 seconds left in the third quarter after Russell Westbrook made a free throw to make it 74–73. Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City with 36 points, while Westbrook had 27. LeBron James led the Heat with 30 points, but was held to one basket during the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter.^[12]

Game 2[]

The Heat defeated the Thunder 100-96 in Game 2, tying the series at one game a piece and giving the Thunder their first home playoff loss of the season. Miami never trailed, building a 27–15 first quarter lead, and holding a 17-point advantage at one point. The Thunder attempted a comeback in the fourth quarter, and with 37 seconds left in the game, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant made a three-pointer to cut the deficit, 98–96. Durant would miss a game-tying jumper in the closing seconds as Miami held off Oklahoma City for the Game 2 win. The play did not come without controversy however as many observers had felt that James had fouled Durant on the right hip during the shot, a potential sixth foul that would have taken the Heat superstar out of the game in the process.^[13] LeBron James led the Heat with 32 points, while Durant scored 32 of his own to lead the Thunder.^[14]

Game 3[]

Miami won Game 3, 91-85, to go up two games to one in the series. Miami had a slim 47–46 halftime lead before Oklahoma City began the third quarter with a 10–4 run, eventually building a 10-point lead midway through the period. However, Miami scored the last seven points in the third quarter to regain the lead at 69–67. With 7:36 remaining in the game, the Thunder came back to retake the lead at 77–76, but the Heat then scored eight unanswered points to build an 84–77 advantage with 3:47 left. A 6–0 run by Oklahoma City pulled them within one point of Miami with 90 seconds left, but the Thunder could not score again for the rest of the game while the Heat made five insurance free throws. LeBron James led the Heat with 29 points and 14 rebounds, while Kevin Durant scored 25 points to lead the Thunder.^[15]

Game 4[]

Miami won Game 4, 104–98, to go up three games to one in the series. The Thunder jumped to a 33–19 lead by the end the first quarter, but the Heat rallied to cut the score to 49–46 at halftime, thanks to two huge three-pointers by Heat rookie Norris Cole. The two teams remained neck-and-neck throughout most of the third quarter, with Miami holding a 4-point lead at the start of fourth period. However, for the final 16 minutes of the game, Russell Westbrook (who led the Thunder with 43 points) and Kevin Durant (who had 28 points) were the only two Oklahoma City players able to score. With the other Thunder players struggling to make their shots, Miami was able to pull away in the end, largely thanks to late-game heroics from LeBron James, Mario Chalmers and Dwyane Wade. LeBron James led the Heat with 26 points, including the go ahead three pointer, but had to sit out during the final two minutes of the game due to leg cramps.^[16] Mario Chalmers scored 25 points and made two key plays to seal Miami's win: a driving layup around a well-positioned Serge Ibaka and two free throws after a rare mistake by Westbrook (he fouled Chalmers after the point guard recovered Shane Battier's tip on a jump ball with less than 1 minute left, thinking that the shot clock would reset, while NBA rules do not reset at that point in a 4th quarter if the team that previously had the ball re-gains possession off the tip).

Game 5[]

Miami won Game 5, 121–106, to win the series, four games to one.^[17] After keeping it a close game in the first half, the Thunder were outscored 36–22 in the third quarter, with Miami leading as much as 27 at one point. Miami was fueled by strong performances by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, as well as by Mike Miller, who was 7 for 8 for three-pointers, ending the night with 23 points. Miller only entered the game because Wade encountered foul trouble in the first half, with Coach Erik Spoelstra telling the variously-injured veteran the Heat just needed him to hold the fort until the 2nd quarter began; when Miller hit two three-pointers, Spoelstra asked him if he could keep playing and Miller said yes, leading to 23 minutes on the court that were critical in blowing the game open for Miami. The team tied an NBA Finals record for most 3-pointers in a game with 14.^[17] With three minutes remaining in the game, both teams took their starters out of the game, with the Heat still leading by more than 20 points. With their Game 5 win, the Heat won their second NBA championship in team history, and the first for several Heat players, including James, who was named the NBA Finals MVP after averaging 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists in the finals, capping it all off with his first triple double of the season in the final game.^[17] For the Thunder, Kevin Durant had 32 points, and 11 rebounds; Russell Westbrook had 19 points and 6 assists; and James Harden led the bench with 19 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds.^[17]

Rosters[]

Miami Heat[]

2011–12 Miami Heat roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From F/C 50 Anthony, Joel 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1982–08–09 UNLV F 31 Battier, Shane 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1978–09–09 Duke F 1 Bosh, Chris 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1984–03–24 Georgia Tech G 15 Chalmers, Mario 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1986–05–19 Kansas G 30 Cole, Norris 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1988–10–13 Cleveland State C 34 Curry, Eddy 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 295 lb (134 kg) 1982–12–05 Thornwood HS (IL) G 14 Harris, Terrel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1987–08–10 Oklahoma State F/C 40 Haslem, Udonis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1980–06–09 Florida F 5 Howard, Juwan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1973–02–07 Michigan F 6 James, LeBron (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1984–12–30 St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (OH) F 22 Jones, James 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1980–10–04 Miami (FL) F 13 Miller, Mike 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1980–02–19 Florida C 45 Pittman, Dexter 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 1988–03–02 Texas F/C 21 Turiaf, Ronny 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 246 lb (112 kg) 1983–01–13 Gonzaga G 3 Wade, Dwyane (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1982–01–17 Marquette

Head coach Erik Spoelstra Assistant coach(es) Bob McAdoo Keith Askins Ron Rothstein David Fizdale Chad Kammerer Octavio De La Grana Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Injured

Oklahoma City Thunder[]

2011–12 Oklahoma City Thunder roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From C 45 Aldrich, Cole 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1988–10–31 Kansas F/C 4 Collison, Nick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1980–10–26 Kansas G 14 Cook, Daequan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1987–04–28 Ohio State G/F 35 Durant, Kevin (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1988–09–29 Texas G 37 Fisher, Derek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1974–08–09 Little Rock G 13 Harden, James 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1989–08–26 Arizona State F 11 Hayward, Lazar 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1986–11–26 Marquette F 9 Ibaka, Serge 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1989–09–18 Republic of the Congo G 7 Ivey, Royal 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1981–12–20 Texas G 15 Jackson, Reggie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1990–04–16 Boston College G 6 Maynor, Eric  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1987–06–11 Virginia Commonwealth C 8 Mohammed, Nazr 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1977–09–05 Kentucky C 5 Perkins, Kendrick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 267 lb (121 kg) 1984–11–10 Clifton J. Ozen HS (TX) G/F 2 Sefolosha, Thabo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1984–05–02 Switzerland G 0 Westbrook, Russell (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1988–11–12 UCLA

Head coach Scott Brooks Assistant coach(es) Mark Bryant Maurice Cheeks Rex Kalamian Brian Keefe Maz Trakh Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Injured

Player statistics[]

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Miami Heat

Miami Heat statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Joel Anthony	1	0	2.1	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Shane Battier	5	5	37.5	.613	.577	.714	3.4	0.4	0.8	0.0	11.6
Chris Bosh	5	4	36.6	.452	.400	.882	9.4	0.2	0.6	1.2	14.6
Mario Chalmers	5	5	36.5	.442	.348	.857	2.6	4.0	1.8	0.4	10.4
Norris Cole	4	0	11.0	.333	.429	.000	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.3
Terrel Harris	1	0	3.0	.000	.000	.750	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0
Udonis Haslem	5	1	16.3	.400	.000	.833	4.4	0.4	0.0	0.4	2.6
Juwan Howard	1	0	3.0	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
LeBron James	5	5	44.1	.472	.188	.826	10.2	7.4	1.6	0.4	28.6
James Jones	4	0	10.7	.500	.400	1.000	1.5	0.0	0.3	0.0	2.8
Mike Miller	5	0	8.9	.563	.636	1.000	1.8	0.4	0.2	0.2	6.2
Ronny Turiaf	1	0	3.0	.000	.000	.000	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Dwyane Wade	5	5	40.6	.435	.400	.775	6.0	5.2	1.4	1.2	22.6

Oklahoma City Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Cole Aldrich	1	0	4.7	1.000	.000	.000	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Nick Collison	5	0	16.6	.600	.000	.000	4.6	0.6	0.6	0.2	3.6
Daequan Cook	3	0	3.5	.333	.000	.000	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.7
Kevin Durant	5	5	42.6	.548	.394	.839	6.0	2.2	1.4	1.0	30.6
Derek Fisher	5	0	25.6	.423	.357	1.000	1.6	0.8	1.0	0.0	5.6
James Harden	5	0	32.8	.375	.318	.792	4.8	3.6	1.2	0.0	12.4
Lazar Hayward	1	0	4.7	.500	.000	.000	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Serge Ibaka	5	5	26.3	.424	.000	.636	5.2	0.8	0.4	2.0	7.0
Royal Ivey	1	0	3.0	1.000	1.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.0
Kendrick Perkins	5	5	23.2	.429	.000	.750	6.8	0.0	0.2	0.6	4.8
Thabo Sefolosha	5	5	25.9	.296	.182	.833	2.0	1.0	1.4	0.8	4.6
Russell Westbrook	5	5	42.3	.433	.136	.824	6.4	6.6	1.0	0.4	27.0

Broadcast[]

In the United States, the NBA Finals aired on ABC and Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy served as commentators. ESPN Radio aired it as well and had Jim Durham, Jack Ramsey and Hubie Brown as commentators.^[18]

Game	Ratings (households)	Share (households)	American audience (in millions)
1[19]	9.9	16	16.195
2[19]	10.4	18	16.670
3[19]	8.8	15	15.549
4[20]	10.5	17	17.455
5[20]	10.9	18	18.461

References[]

External links[]

• Official website of the 2012 NBA Finals
• 2012 NBA Finals at ESPN
• 2012 NBA Finals at Basketball-Reference.com