Miami Heat were crowned 2012 NBA Champions after overpowering Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena on Thursday night. The resounding victory gave the Heat a 4-1 series victory and handed the franchise only their second NBA title with their previous champagne moment coming in 2006.

As has been the story in the last three games, Heat were once again led by a scintillating display from their star forward LeBron James who crowned his first NBA championship ring with a triple double of 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. It was a performance which capped off a splendid run in the series for James and fittingly earned him the Most Valuable Player award of the Finals.

A limping LeBron James delivered a heroic performance to earn Miami Heat a 104-98 victory over Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Four of the 2012 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena on Tuesday night. The Heat now lead the series 3-1 and stand a win away from their second NBA title. In a dramatic finish to the game, James overcame cramps to his left leg to sink a crucial three-pointer with the scores tied at 94 apiece and two minutes 50 seconds left on the clock. It proved to be a blow the Thunder failed to recover from as Miami went on seal their third straight win.

The mercurial James finished with 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds while Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers each contributed 25 points. But once again, the visitors will be left with much to regret after a strong start to the game which at one point saw Thunder hold a 17-point cushion in the first half. Russell Westbrook led The Thunder's charge right through the night and finished with 43 points which included 20 made field goals from 32 attempts – the most in an NBA game over the last two seasons. Westbrook's teammate, Kevin Durant, had 28 points to show for his efforts in the losing cause.

Miami Heat overcame a 10-point third quarter deficit to beat Oklahoma City Thunder 91-85 in a pulsating Game 3 of the 2012 NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena on Sunday night. The narrow win puts the Heat 2-1 ahead in the series. Star forward LeBron James was again in imperious form for Miami as he led the way with 29 points and 14 rebounds with Dwayne Wade also turning in a fine performance with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Kevin Durant finished with 25 points for The Thunder but was fouled out for the second consecutive game and his absence for a period in the third quarter seemed to swing the momentum in favour of the Heat. Even though the 23 year-old Durant returned in the fourth quarter, he was unable to make an impact and could only contribute four points.

The Eastern Conference final has been a tense affair with both the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics giving their all within the various shortcomings that they possessed. Game 7 was very characteristic of the whole series with both teams going at it, the big name players coming up with big numbers but in the end LeBron James and the boys pulled off a prolific fourth quarter run to take their team past the finish line with a 101-88 win over the 17 time NBA Champions, the Boston Celtics. The game was never a foregone conclusion as Miami kept up the pressure but the C’s took the lead in the fourth quarter, to everyone’s surprise and ensured that Miami had to make one last push to get to the NBA Finals.

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra summed up the series after the game: "I guess that's what a seven-game Eastern Conference series is supposed to be like. It was good to see us come together in a very competitive series."