Author: Monojit Mandal
Heat 93-104 Nuggets
The Nuggets opened their first NBA Finals campaign in dramatic fashion, beating the Miami Heat 104-93 on Thursday. Nikola Jokic led the attack with a triple-double, while Jamal Murray contributed 26 points and 10 assists to lead the Nuggets to a convincing home win.
The Nuggets’ supporting cast was crucial to the win, with Michael Porter Jr. scoring 14 points and 13 rebounds and Aaron Gordon scoring 16 points. Meanwhile, the Heat struggled to keep their opponents at bay, with Bam Adebayo leading the way with 26 points. Gabe Vincent and Haywood Highsmith made significant contributions from the bench, scoring 19 and 18 points respectively. However, Heat standout Jimmy Butler had just 13 points in the game.
The Nuggets took control of the game early on, leading by 21 points at the start of the fourth quarter. Miami managed to recover, going on an 11-0 run to reduce the lead to ten points. With just over two minutes remaining, Highsmith’s three-point basket put the Heat up by nine points. However, the determined Nuggets responded quickly, keeping their cool and distancing themselves from their opponents.
Jokic demonstrated his great playmaking ability by setting up Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a jump shot. Caldwell-Pope then showed his defensive skills with a steal, and Aaron Gordon secured the win with two free throws. Jokic increased the Nuggets’ lead with two free throws and a turnaround jump shot, sparking applause among the crowd of 19,528 at the Ball Arena in Denver.
Jokic focused on helping his teammates in the first quarter, dishing out six assists as the Nuggets immediately found their rhythm. Gordon was a useful scoring option in the first quarter, scoring 12 points. Miami couldn’t find their shooting touch throughout the period, hitting just nine of their 26 attempts.
In the second quarter, the Nuggets kept up their relentless pace, with Murray scoring 10 points and leading his team to a shooting percentage of 60%. Four Denver players scored in double figures at halftime, while Adebayo led the Heat with 16 points. Miami, on the other hand, struggled both offensively and defensively, as Denver outscored them 32-18 in the first half.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver also acknowledged the excitement surrounding the NBA Finals, emphasizing the unpredictability of the match. The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, both underdogs in the championship, highlighted the competitiveness of the league. This year’s finals featured a different showdown for the sixth consecutive season, with a total of nine different teams vying for the title.
According to Nielsen, both Denver and Miami are mid-market NBA clubs, with the Nuggets in 16th place and the Heat in 18th in terms of market size. This feature piqued Silver’s interest, as it contradicts the tradition of recurring finalists being dominated by a small group of clubs. He mentioned the Golden State Warriors’ four consecutive Finals appearances against the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2015 to 2018, as well as the Miami Heat’s four consecutive Finals appearances from 2011 to 2014.
Although neither Miami nor Denver were considered favorites to win the NBA championship at the start of the season, their surprising run to the finals has added excitement and unpredictability to the league’s most important event.