This is how you win games in the NBA Finals, by making a stand, keeping a foot on the gas, dropping big shots and producing big stops. “They love to put themselves out there in those moments of truth.” “During the fourth quarter, our guys love to compete,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. The difference between the two is the fourth-quarter burst held up … emphatically. The Heat had a pair of grand entrances in this game, one to start the game when Max Strus couldn’t miss a shot (unlike Game 1), and one to start the fourth quarter. Nikola Jokic became the 14th different player in NBA history to score at least 41 in a Finals loss. You can’t make teammates better, as Jokic does, when the pass doesn’t lead to a hoop. That’s six fouls, one basket, three assists for him. In addition to never causing any damage offensively, he committed a handful of very silly fouls - on 3-point shooters, on reach-ins, just mind-boggling decisions - and finally fouled out. And Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had a tough night all around. Murray (18 quiet points, one loud missed shot) never had a sizzling stretch in this game, unlike others. His 3-point shot still hasn’t made a Finals debut Porter is 3-for-17 from that distance in this series and that inability hurt Denver on Sunday.īut it’s never just about one player. He was a ghost offensively, scoring just five points, never establishing a flow, never making the Heat pay. The most guilty party was Michael Porter Jr. When a Jokic pass did find them, they missed shots even when they weren’t covered. And Miami was helped by Jokic’s teammates who collectively laid a bunch of eggs. This is a center who was averaging 10.5 assists in the playoffs. The Heat’s defense closed down the passing lanes and forced him to score (he took 28 shots, 13 more than the next closest teammate, Murray). Actually, the more telling statistic from Joker was this: Four assists. And you’d think the Nuggets would win a game like that, with him constantly punishing Miami with finger rolls and high-arching 3-pointers. Nikola Jokic dropped 41 points on the Heat. Here are Five Takeaways from the Heat’s 111-108 victory, and a series that’s now tied at once apiece, and where it might be headed (other than Miami for Games 3 and 4): Or maybe this was a momentary stumble by the Nuggets. This victory could be the boost Miami needed. A stroke of fortune (or misfortune), an epic performance by a star, a referee’s whistle … or a missed game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, anything can happen to tilt a series in the favor of one team over the other. The Finals now shift to Miami for a pair of games, and if the playoffs have taught us nothing else, basketball life comes at you fast this time of year. “They came out in that fourth quarter with a huge sense of desperation,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, “and we didn’t match that.” They then held their breath while Murray misfired on the final shot of the night. The Heat won the fourth quarter and put a boot on the Nuggets’ neck, refusing to lift their heel. It was yet another pugnacious effort by the Heat, who simply outworked and outhustled the Nuggets, refused to perish after falling behind by eight points through three quarters, regained their 3-point shooting touch - making 48.6% - dominated Denver when Butler took a generous fourth-quarter rest, and of course defied all logic surrounding a No. Here’s what, in a nutshell, the Heat did Sunday: Became the first team to win in Denver this postseason, and did so despite a mild performance from Jimmy Butler, with Caleb Martin weakened by illness and still no sign of Tyler Herro. Murray’s game-tying 3-point shot missed at the buzzer, and so, on a strange night at the NBA Finals, the Nuggets’ home playoff mastery exited stage left right as Miami made an entrance in this series with a 111-108 win in Sunday’s Game 2. The Heat erase an 8-point deficit in Game 2 of the NBA Finals by shooting 68.8% from the field in the 4th quarter.ĭENVER - The ball was in Jamal Murray’s hands, usually a sign of security for the Nuggets, and Ball Arena was perspiring, Game 2 was getting late, and the fourth-quarter clock was ticking: 3 … then 2 … but not won.
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