Jimmy Butler added 21 points, the same number as teammate Bam Adebayo, and added nine assists, and the Miami Heat reacted with conviction to the setback suffered in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. beating the Denver Nuggets 111-108 on Sunday.
Miami survived a last-second three-point attempt by Canadian Jamal Murray, which would have sent the game into overtime.
Murray was trying to redeem himself for a rather quiet Game 2, he who was limited to 18 points (7/15 shooting). Before his last chance throw, Murray had just made two of his three long-range shots of the evening (3/8) to bring his club closer to the score.
Butler, who was on defensive duty ahead of Murray on the final play of the game, admitted he was “just trying to deny the shot”, adding he was “glad that one missed the target”.
Nikola Jokic was once again sparkling, especially in the bottle, he who totaled 41 points on 16/28 shooting.
However, it wasn’t enough to beat a tough Heat, also led by 23 points from starting guard Gabe Vincent.
The Heat held a big early lead, then lost as much as 15 points before regaining the lead in the fourth quarter. The Heat beat the Nuggets 36-25 in the final period, erasing an eight-point deficit heading into the final quarter.
Miserable at three points in the first confrontation, Erik Spoelstra’s troops regained their good feelings, starting with an excellent first quarter from Max Strus, author of 12 points (4/7) during the initial 12 minutes.
As Spoelstra had urged them the day before – “Take the shots and catch fire!” – the Foridians managed to find the target behind the arc, where they had sinned three evenings earlier, succeeding 17 of their 35 attempts.
“Our guys are competitors,” Spoelstra insisted. They like this kind of moment. »
The Heat handed the Nuggets their first home loss in the playoffs. The latter had an immaculate 9-0 record at the Ball Arena so far.
More aggression, more skill and better defense too, put Miami on the road to success. Because if the players of Spolestra could not prevent Jokic from being overwhelming, they concentrated a lot of efforts to restrict the performance of his teammates.
“That’s a final, proclaimed the Heat instructor at the microphone of NBA TV. “We know we had to do something defensively. This is the most important thing for us, because we also knew that we can score, we have confidence in our players. »
Malone unreservedly laments the effort
Denver won the opener 104-93 on Thursday, despite what head coach Michael Malone called a “bad outing” for his club.
After the loss in Game 2, Malone didn’t hesitate to sound the alarm loud and clear.
“Let’s talk about the level of effort,” he said in his post-game press briefing. We’re in the NBA Finals, and we’re talking about effort. This is a huge worry for me. You may think I was blowing a boat when I said we played badly in the first game. We really didn’t play well. It’s not the preseason anymore, nor the season; it’s the championship final. »
“They played with confidence,” Murray said. For us, it was a matter of discipline. It gets draining when you concede mistake after mistake, and it’s not them beating you. You leave them open dunks or shots without cover. It’s hard to come back from that in a game. »
The Nuggets are making the NBA Grand Finals for the first time in their 47-year history. They thus put an end to a record of mediocrity which gained in longevity, within the SIlver circuit.
The Heat, who are seeking a fourth title, will now host the Nuggets on Wednesday in Florida.
2023-06-05 03:50:56
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