San Antonio Spurs owner Peter Holt (centre) holds up the Larry O'Brien Trophy with players Tony Parker (right) and Francisco Elson (left) after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA Finals basketball series in Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday night. The Spurs won 83-82.- Reuters CLEVELAND (AP):
The San Antonio Spurs moved in among the NBA's greatest franchises with an 83-82 victory and a four-game sweep of first-time finalists the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
With their fourth championship since 1999 - and third in five years - the Spurs joined the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls as the only teams in NBA history to win four titles.
"It never gets old, it never gets old," Spurs kingpin Tim Duncan said. "Unbelievable. Such a great run, a great journey, a great bunch of guys."
And No. 5 might not be far away either with Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Duncan leading this Texas-oiled machine. Coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, now a perfect 4-for-4 together in finals appearances, spent most of the play-offs dismissing talk that they should be considered a dynasty.
But with titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007, there's no more reason to pretend they aren't one.
Finals MVP Parker scored 24 points, and Ginobili had 27 - 13 in the fourth quarter.
As the final seconds ticked off on Cleveland's finest season, Duncan stood at centre court with both arms raised triumphantly as the rest of the Spurs danced around their centre in a huddle.
"This one's sweeter," Duncan said. "The road that we took to get here was as tough as we ever had it. Guys persevered, we had great performances from one to 12."
hectic final moments
The final moments were hectic as the Spurs needed every last free throw to hold off the Cavaliers, making a last stand at home.
San Antonio's four-game sweep was the eighth since the finals began in 1947.
Parker, who averaged 24.5 points on 57 per cent shooting, became the first European-born player to be honoured as MVP. Until now, the Frenchman was mostly viewed as a pretty decent player with a prettier fiance, TV actress Eva Longoria.
