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2007 finals

Team Coach Wins San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich 4 Cleveland Cavaliers Mike Brown 0
Dates	June 7 – 14
MVP	Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs)
Eastern finals	Cavaliers defeated Pistons, 4–2
Western finals	Spurs defeated Jazz, 4–1
{{{league}}} finals

The 2007 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2006–07 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. This was Cleveland's first trip to the NBA Finals in their franchise history and San Antonio's fourth. The Spurs swept the Cavaliers 4-0. Tony Parker was named the series' MVP. The series was televised on ABC under the ESPN on ABC branding, and produced remarkably low television ratings.

Format

The Finals are played using the current 2-3-2 format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals in 1985. The other playoff series are played in the 2-2-1-1-1 format.

The best-of-seven series began on June 7, 2007, with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs playing the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Because the San Antonio Spurs had a better regular season win-loss record, they had home court advantage.

Series summary

Background

2007 NBA Playoffs

Regular season series

The Cleveland Cavaliers won both games in the regular season series:

San Antonio Spurs

The previous season saw the San Antonio Spurs drop a heartbreaking seventh game at home to the rival Dallas Mavericks in the second round. As the new season began, the Spurs saw the Mavericks rolling through their regular season, on their way to a franchise best 67 win campaign. Meanwhile, the Spurs struggled through their season through January. With the main focus lying on Dallas, and the Phoenix Suns, the Spurs found themselves flying under the radar. However, the Spurs used a late season surge en route to a 58-24 regular season record, good enough for third seed in the Western Conference.

In the playoffs, the Spurs met the Denver Nuggets and their duo of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. Although the Nuggets took Game One, the Spurs rallied off 4 straight wins to take the series in five games. As San Antonio prepared to face off against the second seed Phoenix Suns, the top ranked Dallas Mavericks suffered a stunning first round exit at the hand of the Golden State Warriors. With the Mavs gone, the stakes of the Suns-Spurs series shot up dramatically, and the result was a closely competitive and controversial series.

The Suns, due to their better season record, had homecourt advantage, but that would not last past Game One. In a hotly contested battle of Western Conference heavyweights, each team tried to deliver a knockout blow to the other. The Spurs finally landed it, but by accident. With the game in the balance Tony Parker and Steve Nash collided head-to-head. A large gash opened along Nash's nose and though the medical staff tried admirably, they could not stop the bleeding and he was forced to sit the final 45 seconds and watch as the Spurs won Game One 111-106. Game Two saw the Suns rebound and blow out the Spurs to a 101-81 beating. After this game, Suns center Amar'e Stoudemire labeled the Spurs a dirty team. Game Three switched back to San Antonio and saw a return of the physical play, resulting in Manu Ginóbili receiving a bruised and bloodied eye and Nash being kneed in the groin by Bruce Bowen. However, Tim Duncan led the Spurs to a 108-101 victory.

Games Four and Five were the most controversial of the series. The Spurs, after being comfortably in control of Game Four, saw their 11-point fourth quarter lead dwindle away, to a 2-point Suns lead. With 18 seconds left Robert Horry bodychecked Steve Nash in which he threw his arms in the air, into the scorers table. Nash's teammates jumped to his defense; during the ensuing altercation, Stoudemire and Boris Diaw left the bench heading toward the altercation. Their action violated NBA rules, resulting in the decision by league commissioner David Stern to suspend both players for Game Five (Horry was also suspended two games for his flagrant foul against Nash). In Game Five, played in Phoenix, the short-handed Suns jumped out early and enjoyed a 16 point lead on the Spurs, but in a reversal of Game Four, this time the Spurs came back in the final seconds and won the game 88-85, giving San Antonio a 3-2 series lead.

The Spurs won Game Six of the series 114-106 in San Antonio, sending them to their fifth Western Conference Finals since 1999.

San Antonio went on to beat the Utah Jazz in five games to advance to the franchise's fourth NBA Finals.

Cleveland Cavaliers

In the replay of the previous year's playoff with the Cavs holding homecourt advantage against Washington Wizards, the Cavs took care of the Wizards in a four game sweep after the season ending injuries of both Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. In the second round of the playoffs the Cavs faced off against the New Jersey Nets. Again the Cavs had homecourt and battled with the Nets through 6 games before becoming victorious in the series. The Cavs for only the third time in franchise history were moving on to the Conference Finals, and this time they were facing a familiar foe. The Detroit Pistons, the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, with their homecourt advantage, were waiting for the Cavs. This was the same Detroit team that knocked the Cavs out of the second round last year. The expectations were high after a long 7 game series the previous year and these two teams would not disappoint.

The first two games were close and saw Cleveland fall by identical 79-76 scores. Down 0-2 in the series, the spotlight shifted back to Cleveland and LeBron James. Another hard fought set ensued, with the Cavs taking the two games at home 88-82 and 91-87 respectively. Game 5 switched back to Detroit and produced one of the greatest moments in NBA history.

With 6:14 to go in regulation and his team clinging to a one point 79-78 lead, LeBron James took over. He scored 11 of the final 12 points to end regulation tied 91-91. In the 1st overtime, James scored all 9 of the Cavaliers points ending this period tied 100-100. In the 2nd overtime, James again scored all 9 of the teams points to win game five 109-107. Thus, in the last 16:14 of play, James scored the Cavaliers last 25 points and 29 of the last 30 points.

The Cavaliers beat the Pistons at home in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the franchise's first ever trip to NBA Finals. Cleveland became the third team in NBA history to win a best-of-seven Conference Final after going down 0-2 in a series.

Game summaries

Game 1

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the 2007 Finals as newcomers. Game 1 was their first NBA Finals game in franchise history, and the first for each of its players (other than reserve point guard Eric Snow). However, the San Antonio Spurs had been to the Finals in three of the past eight seasons, winning a championship each time. With solid performances by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginóbili, the Spurs won the series opener in convincing fashion, limiting LeBron James to 14 points on 4-16 shooting.

Game 2

The Spurs took a stranglehold on momentum in Game 2. The Spurs' big three overwhelmed the Cavs and the Spurs led by as many as 29 points in the third quarter. They dominated the game during the first 3 quarters and played show-time basketball. A furious 25-6 rally by Cleveland in the final quarter wasn't enough as the Spurs took a 2-0 lead in the series.

Game 3

Rookie Daniel Gibson started Game 3 in place of the injured Larry Hughes but scored a series-low 2 points on 1-10 shooting. As a team the Cavs shot only .367, but out-rebounded the Spurs 48-41. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a 2006-07 season high 18 rebounds. On the game's final play, LeBron James missed a potential game-tying 29 foot 3-pointer.

Game 3 was the lowest-scoring Finals game since 1955, with Tim Duncan of the Spurs having his lowest scoring game in his NBA Finals career, with 14 points.

Game 4

San Antonio started out strong through the first three quarters, leading by as many as 11. Cleveland would stage a rally near the end of the third quarter and the first five minutes of the fourth, scoring 14 consecutive points to take its first second-half lead of the series. However, the Spurs would stage a 12-3 rally of their own to retake the lead and win the series in a 4-0 sweep.

Twelve-year veteran Michael Finley was awarded the NBA championship game ball.

Rosters

"*"=Starter

San Antonio Spurs 2007 Championship Roster SG 17 Brent Barry (Oregon State) PF 15 Matt Bonner (Florida) SF 12 Bruce Bowen* (Cal State Fullerton) PF/C 45 Jackie Butler (Coastal Christian Academy (VA)) PF 21 Tim Duncan* - Captain (Wake Forest) C 16 Francisco Elson (California) PF/C 2 Melvin Ely (Fresno State) SG/SF 4 Michael Finley* (Wisconsin) SG 20 Manu Ginóbili (Argentina) PF 5 Robert Horry (Alabama) PF/C 7 Fabricio Oberto* (Argentina) PG 9 Tony Parker* (France) PG 14 Beno Udrih (Slovenia) PG 11 Jacque Vaughn (Kansas) G/F 33 James White (Cincinnati)

Cleveland Cavaliers 2007 Finals Roster PG/SG 6 Shannon Brown (Michigan State) PG/SG 1 Daniel Gibson* (Texas) PF 90 Drew Gooden* (Kansas) SG 32 Larry Hughes (Saint Louis) C 11 Žydrūnas Ilgauskas* (Lithuania) SF 23 LeBron James* - Captain (St. Vincent-St. Mary HS, Akron, OH) PG 19 Damon Jones (Houston) PF/C 27 Dwayne Jones (Saint Joseph's) SF/PF 24 Donyell Marshall (Connecticut) SF 14 Ira Newble (Miami (OH)) SF/SG 3 Sasha Pavlović* (Serbia) PF/C 31 Scot Pollard (Kansas) PG 20 Eric Snow - (Michigan State) PF/C 17 Anderson Varejão (Brazil) SG/PG 4 David Wesley (Baylor)

Broadcasting

Coverage was produced by ESPN and televised on ABC in the United States, TSN in Canada, Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, Canal+ in France, Premiere in Germany, and more than 100 other broadcasters in over 200 countries.

Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, analysts Mark Jackson & former Rockets head-coach Jeff Van Gundy, and courtside reporters Michele Tafoya & Stuart Scott provided commentary and analysis for the North American market. The radio coverage on ESPN Radio features play-by-play man Mike Tirico and color analysts Dr. Jack Ramsay and Hubie Brown.

The featured song, aired throughout the playoffs, was The Pussycat Dolls "Right Now."

Another song featured in the 2007 NBA Finals series, "It Ends Tonight" by The All-American Rejects, was aired at the end of the pre-game promo for Game 4.

Ratings

According to ESPN, the NBA Finals series was a television bust in the United States. San Antonio's four-game sweep of Cleveland finished with a record-low 6.2 television rating and 11 share on ABC, Nielsen Media Research said on June 15, 2007.

That was down 27 percent from the 8.5/15 for Miami's six-game victory over Dallas from the previous year and 5 percent under the previous low, a 6.5/12 for San Antonio's six-game win over New Jersey in 2003.

San Antonio's series-winning 83-82 victory on Thursday night got a 6.5/12, down 17 percent from the 7.8/14 for Game 4 in 2006.

Coverage controversy

Additionally, ESPN on ABC's coverage of the Finals placed far more emphasis on the legacy of the game. More was seemingly directed towards league stars Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, three players responsible for the league's success in the 1980s and 1990s. In addition, there was increased emphasis celebrity and cross-network promotion, much of which centered on Eva Longoria, star of ABC's Desperate Housewives and then-fiancee of Spurs' Point Guard Tony Parker was featured at times during the games.

Controversies

In October 2007, Detroit Pistons power forward Rasheed Wallace commented on the loss, stating that the Cavaliers didn't beat the Pistons, but rather that the Pistons lost because they fell prey to the NBA wanting the Cavaliers in the finals. Wallace stated that the NBA was becoming "fake", like World Wrestling Entertainment. NBA Commissioner David Stern addressed the comments, calling them "disrespectful." He rebuked Wallace for such statements, but did not issue a fine against the Pistons forward.

Aftermath

References

1. Associated Press (June 15, 2007). "Ratings for 2007 finals down 27 percent from last year". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
2. McCosky, Chris (October 27, 2007). "Wallace gets Stern rebuke—Commissioner infers forward's comments on league wanting Cavaliers in Finals disrespectful". The Detroit News. p. 3C.
3. "Rasheed's comments draw ire of Stern". NBC Sports. October 27, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2011.

External links

• Archived 2008-12-05 at the Wayback Machine

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See also: WNBA Finals

• National Basketball Association Finals
• 2006–07 NBA season
• 21st century in Cleveland, Ohio
• 21st century in San Antonio, Texas
• 2007 in Ohio
• 2007 in Texas
• Basketball in Ohio
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