LeBron leads Heat to NBA glory

The Miami Heat have been crowned 2012 NBA Champions after they swept Oklahoma City aside 121-106 in Game 5 of the Finals.

 The result saw the Heat take an unassailable 4-1 lead after dropping the first match in the best-of-seven series and delivered the franchise their second title in their 25-year history to go with their 2006 triumph.

 For superstar LeBron James, the result means vindication after numerous failed post-season campaigns both with Cleveland and Miami. 

 Not to mention his extremely controversial and highly scrutinised decision to leave the Cavaliers before the 2010-11 season to join the Heat.

 And it was James, as he did so often throughout this post-season, who led the way once again on Thursday as he recorded a brilliant triple-double (26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds) to guide his team to glory and himself to his first championship after nine years in the NBA.

 The performance ensured James averaged the incredible numbers of 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists for the series on his way to being named the NBA Finals MVP. "It means everything," James said moments after the win.

 "I made a difficult decision to leave Cleveland but I understood what my future was about... I knew we had a bright future (in Miami).

 This is a dream come true for me.

 This is definitely when it pays off." James was one of six players to hit double-figures in Game 5 with Chris Bosh (24 points, seven rebounds), Mike Miller (23, including 7-of-8 three-pointers) and Dwyane Wade (20, eight rebounds) all serving as significant contributors.

 For the Thunder, Kevin Durant was fantastic with 32 points and 11 rebounds while Russell Westrbook (19) and James Harden (19) chipped in with solid tallies. 

 The Heat busted the game open in the second term on the back of a 15-2 run to lead 53-36 4:42 before half-time.

 The Thunder admirably trimmed the deficit to five early in the third but back-to-back threes from Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier sparked a 27-7 run for Miami from which Oklahoma City would never recover.

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