From an NBA season doomed to a Finals matchup for the ages

In the beginning, there was darkness, where an NBA season was supposed to be. A prolonged lockout, empty arenas, an unplugged game. Sullen uncertainty, where the applause had been so loud only recently.

The sport needed to catch a break after all of that. It just did.

Now, in the end, the glowing marquee lights up June, promoting an imminent collision of A-list icons and compelling teams. LeBron James and Kevin Durant will be eyeball to eyeball, ooooh against ahhhh.

Could this get much better? "Our game has been and probably will always be built around its stars," wise old Oklahoma City Thunder guard Derek Fisher was saying.

So this seems just the ticket to complete a season's salvation.

And so much needed to be saved.

A year ago, the Dallas Mavericks stormed to an NBA title widely savored. Some hated their opponent, the Miami Heat, some admired the Mavericks' understated style. Many did both.

Anyway, ratings were high and times were good. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle talked that championship night of how he had heard from so many people that "there's a billion people rooting for you guys."

So did a billion people cheer the NBA last June?

Then came the labor showdown. The lockout. The harsh words and lost momentum. That led to a rushed training camp and compressed season, played at a pace as if the entire sport was double-parked.

Nothing seemed settled or solid. Was the public at large paying attention, or had it wandered off to other things? But then, the postseason is when the world truly gathers 'round. That is when the high ground would have to be retaken.

But the playoffs wobbled off the starting line with aches and pains and MRI reports, as the important names ? most particularly Chicago Bulls All-Star point guard Derrick Rose? went down one after another. Scores were low, games were ugly, on-court demeanor sometimes grew ragged.

The NBA was in need of a gala, and the party was a little slow to start.

All now forgotten, lost in the buzz.

The clich? is as true in pro basketball as anywhere else in sports ? the people will remember most what happens last. And look what is about to happen. In the NBA's fondest wishes, this will be an updated version of Magic vs. Bird, which would evoke the golden age.

We'll have to see about that one. It's a pretty high bar. But what seems certain is that at this moment the sport could not ask for a more compelling or appealing pairing, one that certainly seems to represent the NBA's journey from night back into day.

To the denizens of Miami, this is only the confirmation of destiny. The Heat are back in the Finals, to get it right this time. "You have to forget it," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said of the flop against the Mavericks last June. "But you can't forget in a sense."

To the faithful of Oklahoma City, this is the full blooming of a love affair with its Thunder and their rapid rush toward the top. Four years ago, they came to town and went 23-59.

"No one is a wilder dreamer than me," Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said. "But not in my wildest dreams did I think this could happen this soon."

Miami is renowned ? or is that infamous? ? for seeking greatness with star power and an open checkbook. But with that comes impatience, from without and within. Hence, the Big Three, whose moment must come soon, if it is to come at all.

"Their talent is undeniable," Carlisle said of the Heat a year ago. "At some point, it's going to carry the day."

That day better come before long.

Oklahoma City has moved differently, bringing in young talent and watching it ripen, even if it required pain. Hence, a Cub Scout troop, where the top four scorers are age 23 or under.

"I don't believe that there's one way to do anything. That's what makes the NBA great," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. "You've got 30 teams. Everybody has a different approach.

"We've never really looked at it as anything more than trying to figure out what's the best path for the Thunder."

So it's the Finals of differing roads. James was supposed to start winning championships yesterday. Durant is supposed to start winning them tomorrow. But it is today, for which they must now duel.

So much energy this season went to dealing with the cost of the past. Acrimony about the labor contract. Controversy about the schedule. Mileage on the legs of the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers.

But this is suddenly about the here and now. One team in its glamorous prime, the other trying to get there. A sport that spent so much time during the regular season discussing what was wrong now gets a fortnight to talk about what is right.

Seven months ago, the desperation was in the negotiating room. Now it is on the court.

Fisher understands the ebb and flow of this season as well as any, from his own career arc. He began the season in the middle of the labor fight as the president of the players union. He was also a Laker. Now the lockout is a memory, his dispute is not with the owners but his own players association to keep his job and he is a point guard with the Thunder.

"It is an event. It's not just a basketball game," he said of the Finals. "I think fans love seeing great competition and two teams giving their all. We've done that to this point. We have a job to finish."

Nothing pale would have done, given the NBA's shaky season.

"If you're a competitor, you live for this," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's the highs and the lows, knowing but not knowing. ? These are the days that 20 years from now we'll all be thinking about, 'Oh man, that's when you felt most alive.' "

LeBron James vs Kevin Durant. The NBA Finals seldom get more alive than that. Just in time, too. All's well that ends well.

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