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By: Marvin Azrak
The Miami Heat have acquired home court advantage. They evened their NBA Finals series at 1-1 with a hard-fought 111-108 victory against the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 in Denver on Sunday.
After shooting a putrid 0-for-10 (0-for-9 from deep) in Game 1, Max Strus got Miami hot early. The 27-year-old Strus hit several long-range jumpers. He drilled four in the opening quarter alone, while Gabe Vincent added secondary scoring.
Butler’s jumper with 4:56 left in the opening stanza gave the Heat a 21-10 lead. It was the second-largest deficit Dnver had faced all postseason. Then in a flash, it disappeared. Denver’s shooting improved in the second quarter.
The Nuggets outscored Miami 32-11 over the next 9 minutes, turning the double-digit deficit into a double-digit lead thanks to an absolute 3-point barrage. Denver established their transition game, allowing them to outscore Miami 34-25 in the quarter and take the lead. A70 second stretch in the second quarter saw Denver make four 3-pointers from four players: Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, Murray, and Gordon. It was more points than Miami had scored in that entire 9-minute period. The flurry ended with five consecutive points from Murray, giving Denver a lead of 44-32. Miami managed to close the gap to 57-51 by halftime. But they lost the good momentum they had initially grabbed.
Miami tried to regain control in the third quarter. But Jokic continued to dominate, scoring an impressive 31 points. Several Miami players, including Strus, Vincent, Butler, and Adebayo, contributed double-digit points.
In the final period, the Heat showcased the toughness that got them here. They embarked on a 29-12 run to establish a double-digit lead of their own. Denver managed to mount a late comeback with an 11-2 run. But Jamal Murray missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer, sealing the win for Miami.
Jokic led all scorers with a remarkable performance, accumulating 41 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. It was the third time in this postseason Jokić has scored at least 40. Denver has dropped all three of those contests during a postseason in which they are now 13-4 overall. “If you take some of the passes away, he will go score,” Kevin Love said. “You try to take that away and send a double team; he will pass the ball. He’s going to bury you under the hoop if you switch. He’s so smart that you try to make it tough on him and take the other X factors out of the game.”
The Heat did that, shrinking the floor with a half-court zone defense. It was precisely why coach Malone elected not to use one of his two remaining timeouts in the waning seconds of regulation. “We were struggling to break their half-court defense,” he said. “I thought we let them get set; there’s a chance we wouldn’t get off a quality shot. We would be better off getting a look in transition.” They did, but Murray’s three-pointer rimmed out, ending the game. I think you guys have seen me hit that shot enough,” Murray said. “It was a good look. It didn’t go down.” “I think he got off a decently good look,” Butler, who guarded Murray, said. “Kind of like high pick-and-roll isolation, and I just contested it. Pretty glad that he missed it to give us a 1-1 series tie going back to Miami.”
The Nuggets didn’t get much from Aaron Gordon, who finished with 12 points. It’s as many as he scored in the first quarter of Game 1 when he scored 12 points in the first quarter. Michael Porter Jr. struggled from the 3-point range (3 of 17 in the series).
Murray had 18 points and ten assists for Denver. Bruce Brown scored 11.
But the collective effort from Miami proved to be the difference-maker. Vincent led the way for the Heat with 23 points, while Butler and Adebayo each added 21. Strus finished with a respectable 14 points. Adebayo has been the Heat’s best player through two games. He had 26 points on 25 shots in Game 1, and in Game 2, he added nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
An unexpected contributor for Miami in Game 2 was veteran Kevin Love, who missed Game 1. Love’s presence provided size, physicality, and veteran experience. He recorded six points, ten rebounds, two steals, and an assist in just 22 minutes on the court.
After the game, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra blamed himself for not making the move in Thursday’s 104-93 Game 1 loss.
“We needed that size, physicality, and veteran experience that K Love brings,” Spoelstra said.
Meanwhile, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone was not happy with his team’s lack of effort in the loss compared to the energy inserted by Miami.
“Let’s talk about effort,” Malone started. “This is the NBA Finals, and we’re talking about effort. That’s a massive concern of mine.
“Miami came in here and outworked us. We had by far our most undisciplined game of the playoffs.” “You guys probably thought I was just making up some storyline after Game 1 when I said we didn’t play well,” Malone said. “The truth is we didn’t play well. The starting lineup to start the game was 10-2 Miami tonight. They scored 11 points in two minutes and 10 seconds at the start of the third quarter.
“We had guys out there that were just, whether feeling sorry for themselves for not making shots or thinking they can just turn it on or off. They were just not playing well. This is not the preseason. This is not the regular season. This is the NBA Finals. So to me, that part was perplexing. It was disappointing.”
With the series tied, both teams now turn their attention to Game 3 in Miami on June 7. The Heat will capitalize on their home-court advantage and continue their strong performance. The Nuggets will seek to steal a game back by playing with more significant effort and discipline. The NBA Finals are heating up. Fans can expect an intense battle as both teams strive to gain the upper hand in pursuing the championship title.
HERRO TO PLAY HERO?
Injured Heat guard Tyler Herro played 2-on-2 on Saturday as he continues his efforts to try to return from a broken hand at some point in these finals. Herro hurt himself in the first half of Game 1 of Round 1 at Milwaukee. His status for Game 3 is unclear.
EXPANSION TALK:
Commissioner Adam Silver emphasized the NBA’s forthcoming focus on negotiating the next media rights deal and addressing expansion talks. In an interview with NBA TV, Silver stated, “Now that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement has been ratified, negotiations for the next media rights deal are now a priority.” He projected that these negotiations would commence “in earnest probably this next spring.” Following the media deal discussions, the league would shift its attention towards considering the addition of new franchises.
When asked about potential expansion locations, Silver asserted, “We don’t have anything specific in mind right now.” However, he expressed the logical progression of a successful organization to pursue growth, stating, “I think it makes sense over time if you’re a successful organization to continue to grow.” The Commissioner acknowledged the NBA’s interest in incorporating “a lot of great cities” into the league but did not disclose any specific locations then.
