The Denver Nuggets surpassed the Miami Heat 94-89 in a challenging Game Five of the finals to clinch their first NBA title; Nikola Jokic, the star of the team won the Bill Russell trophy as the NBA Finals MVP.
Jokic who made history as the first player in the NBA to lead the league in points (600), rebounds (269) and assists (190) in a single postseason saved his teammates with 28 points and 16 rebounds in a game where all hope was lost.
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The Serbian was awarded the Bill Russell trophy as the NBA Finals MVP, an award that meant more to him than the two overall MVPs he won in 2021 and 2022.
“We are not in it for ourselves, we are in it for the guy next to us,” Jokic said. “And that’s why this (means) even more.”
Denver’s victory was a gruelling one.
The Nuggets found it difficult to subdue the burning Heat or beat the finals night nerves, causing them to miss 20 of their first 22 three-pointers and seven of their first 13 free throws.
Jokic’s team led by seven late before Miami’s Jimmy Butler scored eight straight points to give his team a one-point lead with 2:45 left.
Butler ended the night with 21, making two extra free throws with 1:58 remaining to help Miami retain a one-point lead. Bruce Brown then got an offensive rebound and tip-in to give Denver the final lead.
Following behind by three with 15 seconds left, Jimmy shot a three but missed the net. Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope delivered two free throws each to keep the match out of reach and win the title for Denver.
No matter how tough the game was, the aftermath was beautiful, something the Nuggets and their fans could accept. Fireworks exploded outside Ball Arena at the final buzzer. Denver will house the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time in the team’s 47 years in the NBA.
“It was ugly and we couldn’t make shots, but at the end, we figured it out,” Jokic said. “I am just happy we won the game”
“That’s why basketball is a fun sport,” he added. “It’s a live thing. You cannot say, ‘This is going to happen’. There are so many factors. I’m just happy that we won the game.”
Miami Heat, as coach Erik Spoelstra said, were a tenacious bunch to break. But they failed in their shooting. Bam Adebayo shot 20 for the team, but the Heat shot 34 per cent from the floor and 25 per cent from threes. Until Butler brook loose, he was 2-for-13 on eight points.
The Heat thrived through a loss in the play-in tournament and became the only second No 8 seed to advance to finals, insisting that they did not want the consolation prizes. They played like they expected a victory, and for a while during the match which was more settled on the ground than in the air, it seemed they would.
Denver came in shooting 37.6 per cent from 3 for the series and shot 18 per cent in this one. The team committed 14 turnovers. Despite clutch shots from Brown and Caldwell-Pope, they went just 13 for 23 from the line.
The Denver Nuggets set the tone of the game with 2:51 left in the first quarter when The Joker received his second foul and joined Aaron Gordon on the bench. Jeff Green and Jamal Murray, who concluded with 14 points and 8 assists on an off night, joined them too.
Denver was tentative on both ends of the court for the remainder of the half. Somehow, after they shot 6.7 per cent from threes – the worst first half in the history of the finals (10-shot minimum) they only trailed by seven.
True to the Denver Nuggets’ character, they pressed on and came at the Heat in waves. Their historic game morphed into a slugfest, but they found a way to win regardless.
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