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| Dates: | June 12–21 | |||||||||
| MVP: | LeBron James (Miami Heat) | |||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Heat: Chris Bosh (2021) Dwyane Wade (2023) Coaches: Pat Riley (2008) | |||||||||
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| NBA Finals | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ← 2011 | ||||||||||
| 2013 → | ||||||||||
The 2012 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2011–12 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat defeated the Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder, 4–1, to win their second NBA title. Miami's LeBron James was named the Finals MVP for the first time in his career. James joined Michael Jordan as the only players to win a championship, MVP, Finals MVP, and Olympic gold medal in the same year.
This Finals marked the first time that the Oklahoma City Thunder appeared in the NBA Finals since the franchise's relocation from Seattle, Washington in 2008, and their first Finals appearance overall since 1996 as the Seattle SuperSonics, where they lost to the Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. It also marked the Miami Heat's second consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals, and third overall. The Heat previously appeared in 2006 and 2011, both times against the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks (winning in the former and losing in the latter).
The series began on June 12, five days later than its originally planned June 7 start. This delay was due to the lockout that pushed the start of the season to late December and shortened the regular season to 66 games.[1] The series then ended on June 21. Under the 2–3–2 rotation, the Thunder had home-court advantage, since they had a better regular season record than the Heat, and thus hosted the first two games. The Heat also became the first team since the 2008–09 Los Angeles Lakers to win the NBA title after losing the previous year, and the first Eastern Conference team to do so since the 1988–89 Detroit Pistons. This Finals was the latest to start until 2020, which was not played until September and October due to COVID-19 pandemic.
This was the first Finals since the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007 in which a team made its first Finals appearance and the first since then in which a team made its first appearance and lost. It was also the last Finals until 2017 to feature Kevin Durant and the last until the Toronto Raptors in 2019 in which a team made its first trip to the NBA Finals in its franchise history.
Background[]
Miami Heat[]
This was the second consecutive appearance, and third overall, for the Heat, after losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals in a rematch from 2006. This was also their second Finals appearance in the "Big Three" era.[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, good for second in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, they 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 despite losing Chris Bosh to injury. The second was against the Celtics in the Conference Finals when they trailed, 2–3, in the series after winning the first two games. They responded by winning a decisive Game 6 in Boston (thanks to LeBron James' 45 points), 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, Terrel Harris, Norris Cole,[5] Eddy Curry,[6][7] and Ronny Turiaf, who was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers team that lost in the Finals to the Boston Celtics in 2008.[8]
Oklahoma City Thunder[]
This was the Thunder's first NBA Finals appearance since they relocated in 2008 from Seattle. 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) despite losing the first two games.[9] Ironically, the Thunder defeated the last three Western Finalists in sequential order en route to this year's Finals.
The Thunder came into the Finals as the second-youngest finalists in NBA history.[10] With the exception of Derek Fisher (with the Los Angeles Lakers), Nazr Mohammed (with the San Antonio Spurs), and Kendrick Perkins (with the Boston Celtics), all players from the Thunder were playing in their first NBA Finals.
Road to the Finals[]
| Oklahoma City Thunder (Western Conference Champion) | Miami Heat (Eastern Conference Champion) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47–19 (.712)
1st Northwest, 2nd West, 3rd Overall |
Regular season | 46–20 (.697)
1st Southeast, 2nd East, 4th Overall | ||
| Defeated the (7) Dallas Mavericks, 4–0 | First Round | Defeated the (7) New York Knicks, 4–1 | ||
| Defeated the (3) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–1 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (3) Indiana Pacers, 4–2 | ||
| Defeated the (1) San Antonio Spurs, 4–2 |
Conference Finals | Defeated the (4) Boston Celtics, 4–3 | ||
Regular season series[]
The season series was tied, 1–1, with both teams winning at their home floor.
| March 25, 2012 | Miami Heat 87, Oklahoma City Thunder 103 | Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Attendance: 18,203 Referees: Mike Callahan, Kane Fitzgerald, Kevin Fehr | ||||
| Scoring by quarter: 24-25, 25-35, 20-20, 18-23 | ||||||
| Pts: Dwyane Wade 22 Rebs: Udonis Haslem 9 Asts: LeBron James 7 |
Pts: Kevin Durant 28 Rebs: Serge Ibaka 10 Asts: Kevin Durant 8 | |||||
| April 4, 2012 | Oklahoma City Thunder 93, Miami Heat 98 | American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Attendance: 20,104 Referees: Zach Zarba, Olandis Poole, Bill Kennedy | ||||
| Scoring by quarter: 23-21, 26-29, 24-30, 20-18 | ||||||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 30 Rebs: Ibaka, Perkins, Collison 7 each Asts: James Harden 5 |
Pts: LeBron James 34 Rebs: Shane Battier 8 Asts: LeBron James 10 | |||||
Series summary[]
| Game | Date | Road Team | Result | Home Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | June 12 | Miami | 94–105 (0-1) | Oklahoma City |
| Game 2 | June 14 | Miami | 100–96 (1-1) | Oklahoma City |
| Game 3 | June 17 | Oklahoma City | 85–91 (1-2) | Miami |
| Game 4 | June 19 | Oklahoma City | 98–104 (1-3) | Miami |
| Game 5 | June 21 | Oklahoma City | 106–121 (1-4) | Miami |
Game summaries[]
Game 1[]
| Game 1 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | 29 | 25 | 19 | 21 | 94 |
| Thunder | 22 | 25 | 27 | 31 | 105 |
| June 12 9:00 pm |
Recap | Miami Heat 94, Oklahoma City Thunder 105 | Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Attendance: 18,203 Referees:
|
ABC | |||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 25–25, 19–27, 21–31 | |||||||
| Pts: LeBron James 30 Rebs: Udonis Haslem 11 Asts: Dwyane Wade 8 |
Pts: Kevin Durant 36 Rebs: Nick Collison 10 Asts: Russell Westbrook 11 | ||||||
| Thunder lead series, 1–0 | |||||||
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 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.[11]
Game 1 of this series marked the first time since 2008 that the NBA Finals started after the conclusion of the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals. The 2012 Stanley Cup Finals ended the day before.
Game 2[]
| Game 2 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | 27 | 28 | 23 | 22 | 100 |
| Thunder | 15 | 28 | 24 | 29 | 96 |
| June 14 9:00 pm |
Recap | Miami Heat 100, Oklahoma City Thunder 96 | Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Attendance: 18,203 Referees:
|
ABC | |||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–15, 28–28, 23–24, 22–29 | |||||||
| Pts: LeBron James 32 Rebs: Chris Bosh 15 Asts: James, Wade 5 each |
Pts: Kevin Durant 32 Rebs: Perkins, Westbrook 8 each Asts: Russell Westbrook 7 | ||||||
| Series tied 1–1 | |||||||
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 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 LeBron 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. James led the Heat with 32 points, while Durant scored 32 of his own to lead the Thunder.[12]
Game 3[]
| Game 3 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder | 20 | 26 | 21 | 18 | 85 |
| Heat | 26 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 91 |
| June 17 8:00 pm |
Recap | Oklahoma City Thunder 85, Miami Heat 91 | American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Attendance: 20,003 Referees:
|
ABC | |||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–26, 26–21, 21–22, 18–22 | |||||||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 25 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 12 Asts: James Harden 6 |
Pts: LeBron James 29 Rebs: LeBron James 14 Asts: Dwyane Wade 7 | ||||||
| Miami led series, 2–1 | |||||||
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.[13] LeBron James led the Heat with 29 points and 14 rebounds, while Kevin Durant scored 25 points to lead the Thunder.
Game 4[]
| Game 4 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder | 33 | 16 | 26 | 23 | 98 |
| Heat | 19 | 27 | 33 | 25 | 104 |
| June 19 9:00 pm |
Recap | Oklahoma City Thunder 98, Miami Heat 104 | American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Attendance: 20,003 Referees:
|
ABC | |||
| Scoring by quarter: 33–19, 16–27, 26–33, 23–25 | |||||||
| Pts: Russell Westbrook 43 Rebs: James Harden 10 Asts: Russell Westbrook 5 |
Pts: LeBron James 26 Rebs: Bosh, James 9 each Asts: LeBron James 12 | ||||||
| Miami led the series 3–1 | |||||||
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. 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.[14] 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 fourth quarter if the team that previously had the ball re-gains possession off the tip).
Game 5[]
| Game 5 | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder | 26 | 23 | 22 | 35 | 106 |
| Heat | 31 | 28 | 36 | 26 | 121 |
| June 21 9:00 pm |
Recap | Oklahoma City Thunder 106, Miami Heat 121 | American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Attendance: 20,003 Referees:
|
ABC | |||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–31, 23–28, 22–36, 35–26 | |||||||
| Pts: Kevin Durant 32 Rebs: Kevin Durant 11 Asts: Russell Westbrook 6 |
Pts: LeBron James 26 Rebs: LeBron James 11 Asts: LeBron James 13 | ||||||
| Miami wins NBA Finals, 4–1 | |||||||
Miami won Game 5, 121–106, to win the series, four games to one.[15] After keeping it a close game in the first half, the Thunder were outscored by 14 in the third quarter, with Miami leading as much as 27 at one point. Miami was fueled by strong performances by LeBron James, Dwayne 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 second 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.[15] 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.[15] 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.[15]
The Heat became just the third home team to sweep the middle three games of a Finals series since the NBA switched to the 2–3–2 format in 1985, the other two being their 2006 team and the 2004 Detroit Pistons. They also joined the 2004 Pistons and 1995 Houston Rockets as the only lower seeded team to win the Finals in 5 games or less. In addition, they became the first team to win the NBA Finals after trailing in three different series in the postseason, 1–2 against Indiana, 2–3 against Boston, and 0–1 against Oklahoma City. Dwayne Wade and Udonis Haslem are the only Heat players to win both 2006 and 2012 NBA championships for the Miami Heat.
Rosters[]
Template:Miami Heat 2011–12 season roster Template:Oklahoma City Thunder 2011–12 season roster
Statistical leaders[]
| Category | High | Average | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Total | Player | Team | Avg. | Games played | |
| Points | Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City Thunder | 43 | Kevin Durant | Oklahoma City Thunder | 30.6 | 5 |
| Rebounds | Chris Bosh | Miami Heat | 15 | LeBron James | Miami Heat | 10.2 | 5 |
| Assists | LeBron James | Miami Heat | 13 | LeBron James | Miami Heat | 7.4 | 5 |
| Steals | LeBron James | Miami Heat | 4 | Mario Chalmers | Miami Heat | 1.8 | 5 |
| Blocks | Serge Ibaka | Oklahoma City Thunder | 5 | Serge Ibaka | Oklahoma City Thunder | 2.0 | 5 |
Player statistics[]
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 and Mark Jackson served as commentators. ESPN Radio aired it as well and had Jim Durham, Jack Ramsey, and Hubie Brown as commentators.
| Game | Ratings (households) |
Share (households) | American audience (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9.9 | 16 | 16.195 |
| 2 | 10.4 | 18 | 16.670 |
| 3 | 8.8 | 15 | 15.549 |
| 4 | 10.5 | 17 | 17.455 |
| 5 | 10.9 | 18 | 18.461 |
References[]
- ↑ "2012 National Basketball Association Important Dates". NBA. http://www.nba.com/news/key-dates/index.html. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- ↑ Whitley, David (June 10, 2012). "Miami Heat's second-straight NBA Finals appearance not enough to remove doubt around LeBron James". Sporting News. http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-06-10/miami-heat-nba-finals-lebron-james-dwyane-wade-okc-thunder-celtics. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ "Pat Riley: The Miami Years". ESPN. June 21, 2012. http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2012/story/_/id/8072533/pat-riley-miami-heat-years. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ Hawkins, Mark (June 11, 2012). "Miami Heat’s Road to the 2012 NBA Finals: Fan's Take". Yahoo! Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/miami-heat-road-2012-nba-finals-fans-061300646--nba.html. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ Haberstroh, Tom (April 9, 2012). "The rise and fall of rookie Norris Cole". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/miamiheat/post/_/id/13310/the-rise-and-fall-of-rookie-norris-cole. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ Wallace, Michael (December 10, 2011). "Eddy Curry signs with Miami Heat". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7339013/slimmed-eddy-curry-signs-hopes-career-revival-miami-heat. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ Brian, Windhorst (December 8, 2011). "Shane Battier to sign with Heat". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7330117/memphis-grizzlies-shane-battier-plans-sign-miami-heat. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ Associated Press (March 21, 2012). "Ronny Turiaf signs with Heat". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7718396/miami-heat-bolster-depth-sign-veteran-big-man-ronny-turiaf. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Hawkins, Mark (June 10, 2012). "Oklahoma City Thunder’s Road to the 2012 NBA Finals: Fan's Take". Yahoo! Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/oklahoma-city-thunder-road-2012-nba-finals-fans-153800334--nba.html. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ Sherman, Mike (June 18, 2012). "NBA Finals: Thunder has overcome much, but it must now overcome doubt". The Oklahoman. http://newsok.com/article/3685491. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- ↑ "Kevin Durant, Thunder pull away from Heat, win Game 1". ESPN. June 12, 2012. http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320612025. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ↑ "LeBron James, Heat hold off Thunder, knot NBA Finals at 1–1". ESPN. June 14, 2012. http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320614025. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ↑ "LeBron James leads way with 29 points, 14 boards as Heat go up 2–1". ESPN. June 17, 2012. http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320617014. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
- ↑ "Heat overcome Russell Westbrook's 43 points, take 3–1 Finals lead". ESPN. June 19, 2012. http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320619014. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 ESPN. "LeBron James, Heat dominate Thunder to win NBA championship". http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320621014. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
External links[]
- Official website of the 2012 NBA Finals
- 2012 NBA Finals at ESPN
- 2012 NBA Finals at Basketball-Reference.com
| Preceded by 2011 |
NBA Finals 2012 |
Succeeded by 2013 |