OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JANUARY 30: Forward LeBron James #6 talks with Dwyane Wade #3 and Chris Bosh #1 of the Miami Heat during play against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Ford Center on January 30, 2011 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)Best player in the game. Best team in the league.
LeBron James has found it all since taking his talents to South Beach two summers ago.
Add NBA champion to the list.
''Happiest day of my life,'' he said.
James had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, leading the Heat in a 121-106 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night to win the NBA Finals in five games.
All that was left was a celebration nine years in the making.
''It means everything,'' James said moments after the win, moments before being named the playoffs MVP to go along with his regular-season award. ''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 left the game along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for good with 3:01 remaining for a round of hugs and the start for a celebration he's been waiting for since arriving in the NBA out of high school as the No. 1 pick of the 2003 draft. James hopped up and down in the final minutes, shared a long hug with opponent Kevin Durant, and then smiled as he watched the confetti rain down from the rafters.
''It's about damn time. It's about damn time,'' James said.
The Heat took control in the second quarter, briefly lost it and blew the game open again in the third behind their role players, James content to pass to wide-open 3-point shooters while the Thunder focused all their attention on him.
The disappointment of losing to Dallas in six games a year ago vanished in a blowout of the demoralized Thunder, who got 32 points and 11 rebounds from Durant.
Bosh and Wade, the other members of the Big Three who sat alongside James as he promised titles at his Miami welcoming party two summers ago, both had strong games. Bosh, who broke down in tears as the Heat left their own court after losing Game 6 last year, finished with 24 points and Wade scored 20. The Heat also got a huge boost from Mike Miller, who made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points.
That all made it easier for James, the most heavily scrutinized player in the league since his departure from Cleveland, when he announced he was ''taking his talents to South Beach'' on a TV special called ''The Decision'' that was criticized everywhere from talk shows and water coolers straight to the commissioner's office. James has said he wishes he handled things differently, but few who watched the Cavaliers fail to assemble championship talent around him could have argued with his desire to depart.
He found in Miami a team where he never had to do it alone, though he reminded everyone during this sensational postseason run that he still could when necessary. He got support whenever he needed it in this series, from Shane Battier's 17 points in Game 2 to Mario Chalmers' 25 in Game 4.
In the clincher it was Miller, banged-up from so many injuries that he limped from the bench to scorer's table when he checked in. He made his fourth 3-pointer of the half right before James' fast-break basket capped a 15-2 run that extended Miami's lead to 53-36 with 4:42 remaining in the first half.
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