Kevin Durant has done what he arrived in the Bay Area at the beginning of the season to achieve, named finals MVP after leading the Golden State Warriors to the NBA title with a 129-120 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in game five.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the Cavaliers to get back into the playoffs after conceding game three at home.
But the visitors started brightly, jumping out to a nine-point lead toward the end of the first quarter.
Led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers looked to find the extra gear they'd been missing in the opening three matches, threatening to exploit mental ghosts that accompanied a Warriors 3-1 finals lead from the 2015/16 season.
However cracks in the armours of Warriors Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Zaza Pachulia and Klay Thompson were waterproof sealed by Kevin Durant who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck in both the second and the third quarters.
Once the Warriors hit the lead midway through the second quarter, they didn't relinquish it.
Clutch shooting from outside the perimeter as well as sharp offensive rebounds were the Warriors strongholds on a night that the Cavs gained just seven points from their bench.
James was by far and away the best for the Cavs with 41 points and 13 rebounds and whilst he didn't finish with a triple double, became the first player to ever average a triple double in the NBA Finals.
As for the champions, Durant led the scoring but was well supported by Curry with 34 points. The starters also received very good support off the bench with Andre Iguodala knocking down 20 and even Patrick McCaw chiming in with six points.
The win is the Warriors second title in three years while on the other side, James goes to three wins and five losses in the NBA Finals.
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