It took the Denver Nuggets 47 years to get to this point, but it’s better late than never! On Monday, the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to capture the team’s first NBA title.
The Nuggets won the series 4-1, and now they celebrate in Denver. Nikola Jokic was named Finals MVP.
There are many ways to get to an NBA title; some build through free agency, others build through the draft, and for the Nuggets, their path to a championship was through the draft.
Denver’s top three players came through the draft. Jokic was a second-round pick in 2014; Jamal Murray was the seventh overall pick in 2016, and Michael Porter Jr. was the 14th overall pick in 2018.
Unfortunately, injuries hurt this time. Murray(knee) and Porter Jr.(back) missed significant time, which hurt this team’s title chances, but the organization stayed patient, and good things happen to those who wait.
“I came here when I was 20,” Jokic, who led the NBA in points, rebounds, and assists in the playoffs, said. “Jamal came here when he was 21? (19). Yes, the core, but if you want to be a success, you need a couple years. You need to be bad, then you need to be good, then when you’re good, you need to fail, and then when you fail, you’re going to figure it out. I think experience is something that is not what happened to you. It’s what you’re going to do with what happened to you.
“Yes, Jamal was injured. Yes, we lose the first round or second round in the Playoffs… But there is a process that you need to — there is steps that you need to fill, and there is no shortcuts. It’s a journey, and I’m glad that I’m part of the journey.”
Murray, who missed the better part of two seasons with a torn ACL, was emotional after winning his first NBA title.
“Everything was hitting. Everything was hitting at once, from the journey to the celebration with the guys to enjoying the moment, to looking back on the rehab, to looking back at myself as a kid, as the other viewer, looking from the crowd in or from the camera lens in, and now looking back at them,” Murray said. “It was a lot. I couldn’t hold it in. It was just something I’ve been working for my whole life.
“I think Mike said it, Porter. Every real hooper wants to be on this stage and play in the game and be in this moment. To see it full circle, going from my rehab, not being able to walk, go up the stairs, not just for a month or two. It was for a long time. A lot of different things going through my head. A lot of tears. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears, and real ones.”
From start to finish, the Nuggets were the best basketball team. After years of injuries and disappointment, Denver finally breaks through. None of that happens without patience.
The Denver Nuggets are one win away from their first NBA title in franchise history after they defeated the Miami Heat 108-95 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Miami on Friday night to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Game 5 is Monday night in Denver.
Denver, who won their fifth straight road playoff game, played a good portion of the fourth without Nikola Jokic due to foul trouble. With Jokic on the bench, the Nuggets, who led most of the game, got some big buckets from Jamal Murray(15 points and 12 assists) and Bruce Brown(11 of his 21 points in the fourth).
However, it wasn’t Jokic(23 points and 12 rebounds) or Murray that led the way; it was Aaron Gordon! He had a game-high 27 points(11/15 FG, 3/4 3 PT FG) with seven rebounds and six assists.
Gordon came to Denver in 2021 via a trade from the Magic, and he was able to fit right into what the Nuggets are doing. Gordon has defended Jimmy Butler throughout this series and has done a lot of dirty work for this team.
“I felt like I was going to be a defender for this team, a defenseman for this team,” Gordon said. “I knew they could score. MPJ, one of the best shooters on earth. You’ve got a two-time MVP in Joker that can do everything on offense. You’ve got Jamal Murray, that can go for 50 on any given night. I knew I was coming in to play defense and make their job easy. That’s what I like to do. I like to play defense. That’s my niche. That’s how I came into the league, defensive-minded.
Nuggets Michael Malone was proud of Gordon, who scored 15 of his 27 points in the second quarter.
“Aaron did it all for us tonight,” he said. “He really did. We’ve seen that now in four games in the Finals where Aaron has had moments where he has carried us offensively. He made threes tonight, obviously, which is always a good thing, but I couldn’t be more proud of Aaron Gordon and his impact across the board tonight.
Jokic is impressed with the sacrifices Gordon has to make to fit in with the Nuggets.
“You know, he’s playing a different role, and that’s why he sacrificed himself, and that’s why he’s a great teammate, and that’s why he won us the game today,” Jokic said about Gordon. “I think if you sacrifice yourself for something bigger than yourself, the team, whatever, he sacrifices himself, and that’s why I think the one upstairs gave him the game today, gave him the game that he had. He was our best player on the floor, and guarding the best player every night, that’s a tough job, and maybe he’s not going to get a lot of credit, but we know what he’s doing for our team, and we’re really thankful for him, and we appreciate him a lot.”
Murray says Gordon was brought to Denver to do what he’s doing now.
“That’s why we got him,” Murray said. “He’s a dog. He’s strong. He’s physical. He’s tough. He’s chill. He brings everybody together off the court, and he’s a selfless player. He’s been solid this whole Playoffs, this whole season, the whole time he’s been here. He’s been great. He just wants to win. We all want to win. I think we’re all helping each other try to accomplish our goals.”
The Nuggets are a cohesive unit, which is one of the reasons they are one game away from an NBA championship.
After three quarters, the Denver Nuggets were on their way to a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals. Denver led by as many as 15 points in this game and took an eight-point lead into the fourth.
However, the Miami Heat would outscore the Nuggets 36-25 in the fourth and defeat the Nuggets 111-108 on Sunday night in Denver.
The series is tied at one, and Game 3 will be Wednesday night in Miami.
The Heat’s comeback started when they inserted Duncan Robinson to start the fourth; he went on a personal 8-0 run and scored all 10 of his points in the first two minutes of the quarter; the Heat went on a 13-2 run and never trailed the rest of the way.
Robinson, who scored only three points on 1/6 shooting in 21 minutes in Game 1, set the tone for the Heat in the final stanza, and they don’t win Game 2 without him.
“Yeah, I mean, to be honest, I had not done much in the first game, and then the first half of this game, we talk a lot about trying not to have empty minutes,” Robinson said. “So just trying to play with a certain level of aggressiveness on offense just to at least be out there and have my presence felt.
“Obviously, it helps when the ball goes in, which you can’t always control. But, you know, just really about taking the right shots and just being aggressive.”
Kevin Love, who started Game 2 and had six points and 10 rebounds, added on Robinson: “It’s a beautiful thing to see. We needed all of those contributions tonight.”
In 2021, Robinson signed a five-year, $90 million contract, and last season, he did not play much in the playoffs. His minutes have been down this season, and according to Robinson, the previous two seasons made what happened on Sunday even more rewarding.
“It’s certainly gratifying,” he said. “Gives you a newfound perspective and appreciation just for opportunity and this journey, understanding that you kind of go through stretches where you’re going to have challenges and you’re going to have to deal with adversity and overcome it.
“It’s not always storybook in that sense, and you don’t always get when you want, and just kind of learning how to deal with that and push through that, I think obviously it makes moments like this more enjoyable, but I think it also just makes you more grateful to have opportunities on this stage. Try not to take it for granted, and yeah, you know, just go out there and enjoy myself and have fun and try to help this team win games.”
Miami still has more work to do, but if they win this series, many will point to Robinson’s 10-point spurt in the fourth quarter in Game 2.
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets made their NBA Finals debut on Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and they did not disappoint. Jokic had a triple-double with games highs of 27 points and 14 assists, to go along with 10 rebounds, as the Nuggets handled the Heat 104-93 at Ball Arena.
Jokic didn’t do it alone, as Jamal Murray added 26 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists. The Nuggets led by as many as 24 points.
The two-time league MVP got open looks for many of his teammates; Denver had five players in double figures, so if Jokic wasn’t scoring, he was helping others to get off, which made Denver’s offense tough to stop.
“That’s how I learned to play basketball, and I think it’s really nice to play — it’s really hard to guard when you don’t know who’s going to attack and how to defend when everybody is moving, everybody is doing something,” Jokic said. “I think it’s a really nice brand of basketball that we have, and everybody buys in. I’m not sure that I did that for us or whatever, but I think everybody contributed, and everybody accepted it.”
Murray agreed with Jokic; Denver can attack teams in many ways.
“If they take the pocket away, we’re looking somewhere else,” Murray said. “If they take me away, then we’re looking somewhere else. We’re just trying to find the open man, find the best shot, find the mismatch. I think we do that throughout the game. So, it’s hard to guard everybody, instead of just one or two guys.
“We make you have to be locked in on defense throughout the game. I think tonight was just a great example of it could be anybody’s night and anybody’s quarter, maybe not your quarter. That’s just Nuggets basketball.”
The Nuggets had 29 assists on 40 field goals; Murray and Jokic had 24 of those 29 assists, and the combo became the third teammates to each record 10-plus assists in a Finals game.
Nuggets basketball is pretty, and if Jokic and Murray continue to play like this, Denver will be tough to beat in these Finals, but Miami will adjust, and we will see what they do in Game 2 on Sunday night.
Notes:
Aaron Gordon scored 12 of his 16 points in the first quarter; Michael Porter Jr. added 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists; Gabe Vincent chipped in with 19 points.
The Cavs(25-15) began their five-game road trip in Denver against the Nuggets(26-13) on Friday night. Cleveland would not have the services of their leading scorer Donovan Mitchell(rest). However, they did get Darius Garland back, who missed two games with a sprained thumb, but it wasn’t enough.
Denver had seven players in double figures, including all five starters, as they defeated the Cavs 121-108 at Ball Arena.
Cleveland’s three-game winning streak was snapped, while the Nuggets have won two straight.
Here’s the Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ loss to the Nuggets
Great:
Caris LeVert led the Cavs with a team-high 22 points, including three threes. This was the third time in four games that LeVert has scored 20-plus points.
Cedi Osman gave the Cavs a nice lift off the bench. He scored 10 of his 15 points(6/10 FG, 3/3 3-point FG) in the first half.
Not So Great:
Defense: Cleveland allowed the Nuggets to score 121 points on 53% shooting, including 49% from downtown. The Nuggets made 17 threes. Cleveland has the number one-rated defense in the NBA, but the defense betrayed them on Friday night.
Third Quarter: Denver led 62-58 at the break, and they took over the game in the third. They outscored the Cavs 32-24 and had their best shooting quarter of the game. Denver shot 55% in the quarter, including 50% from three-point range.
Cleveland, like most teams, had no answers for Nikola Jokic as he scored 11 points on 4/5 shooting from the field and was 3/3 from deep in the quarter.
After a Bones Hyland three late in the third, Denver had its largest lead of the quarter at 94-79 and would take a 12-point lead into the fourth.
Cleveland got the lead down to nine in the fourth, but they did not get much closer.
Free Throw Shooting: Cleveland was an abysmal 18/32(56%) from the charity stripe. The biggest culprit? Evan Mobley, who was 0/6 from the line.
Bottom Line:
Defeating the Nuggets in Denver would have been tough with Mitchell, and without him, it became an even more difficult proposition. As good as Cleveland is, this is a game you probably said would have been a loss when you looked at this west coast trip, so in reality, there’s no shame in losing to the team with the best record in the West on the road.
However, the Cavs(7-11) need to be better on the road.
What’s Next:
Cleveland heads to Phoenix to face the Suns on Sunday night.
Best of the Rest:
Jokic had a triple-double for the Nuggets with 28 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals; Jamal Murray added 18.
For the Cavs, who had six players in double figures, Garland had 21 points and eight assists. Jarrett Allen had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Mobley had 12 points and nine rebounds.
For the second time in five days, a game was delayed in Denver due to rim issues. This game was delayed for over eight minutes early in the fourth, and against the Celtics a few days ago, the game was delayed for 35 minutes.
The Cavaliers(10-20) finally were able to get back home after an 0-5 west coast trip, but unfortunately for them, it did not matter. The Cavs fell to the Denver Nuggets 120-103 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Cleveland has now lost nine straight games.
Friday’s win for Denver(16-13) was all about Jamal Murray, who shot 21-25 from the field, including 8-10 from three-point range to score a regular-season career-high 50 points. According to the Denver Nuggets, Murray became the first player in NBA history to have 50-plus points, 8-plus threes, and 80-plus field goal percentage in a single game in NBA history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Murray also became the first player to score 50 points without a one free throw attempt.
“I was just making my shots,” Murray said after the game. “It’s kind of cool to make history. It’s a cool stat.”
Cavaliers Jarrett Allen, who scored 20 points and 10 rebounds on Friday night, added about Murray: “It was like we were back in the bubble. He only missed only four shots, and one of them was from half-court… Kudos to him for being locked in and just going crazy on us.”
Cleveland had no answers for Murray, and according to their head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Murray just had one of the nights.
“He made some difficult shots,” Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. Contested, challenged shots. Guys in this league have nights like this, and we seen this from him before.”
The last time these two teams played, Cleveland was blown out 133-95, but despite Murray’s play on Friday night, the Cavaliers battled, which pleased Bickerstaff.
“I thought we competed. We made some mistakes, obviously,” Bickerstaff said. “But, I did think we competed for the majority of the night, so that’s a step in the right direction.”
Cleveland showed fight on Friday night and played hard throughout the whole game, but sometimes you run into teams and players that are rolling, and Murray just had one of those nights. They have three games left on their four-game homestand, and they get back at it on Sunday night against the Thunder.
Notes:
Nikola Jokic recorded a triple-double for Denver on Friday night with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Collin Sexton led the way for the Cavs with 23 points.
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been fined $25,000 for striking Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in the groin area, the league announced on Wednesday.
The incident, for which Murray received a Flagrant Foul 2 and was ejected, occurred with 4:51 remaining in the third quarter of the Nuggets’ 117-113 victory over the Mavericks on Jan. 25 at American Airlines Center.
After the game, Hardaway Jr. had this to say about the incident after Monday’s game:
“Just playing the game,” Hardaway Jr. said. “I guess he was just frustrated they didn’t call the foul. So, I was trying to do the best I can to deny the ball. The rest speaks for itself. I mean, it happens in games. It sucks, but it doesn’t even matter we lost.”
For the second consecutive game, the Dallas Mavericks(8-9) got off to a slow start, including Monday’s 117-113 home loss to the Denver Nuggets(10-7), and just like they did in their home loss to the Rockets on Saturday night, the Mavericks trailed Denver by double digits going into halftime.
However, the third quarter was much different for the Mavericks on Monday. They outscored the Nuggets by 14 in the quarter and had a lead going into the final period. Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle called that third quarter the team’s best quarter of the season.
“I thought the third quarter was one of our best quarters of the year; we moved the ball, we were very determined defensively, we were helping each other at both ends,” Carlisle said. “The first half was very poor; the ball didn’t move, we were distracted, we didn’t help each other defensively. It was very disappointing. But the guys made a great adjustment in the third quarter. The fourth quarter we just didn’t play well enough. We made some mistakes, but instead of giving up 38 and 32, respectively, we gave up 25 and could only score 19. The second half was a much better picture of the kind of team that we want to be and need to be.”
In that third quarter, Denver’s Jamal Murray appeared to hit Tim Hardaway Jr. in the groin area intentionally. Ultimately, Murray was issued a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected. After the ejection, the Mavericks went on a 10-0 run to take a two-point lead.
But, according to Luka Doncic, who recorded a triple-double with 35 points, 11 rebounds, 16 assists and 4 steals on Monday, Murray’s ejection did not have an impact on the team’s performance.
“I don’t think the ejection was something that fired us up,” Doncic said. “We just continued to play, and we continued to fight for every possession. We have to be better on defense for sure, and that is our key to winning games.”
The fourth quarter was about Michael Porter Jr., who scored 11 of his 30 points in the quarter, including eight points in the game’s final four minutes. Porter was playing his third game after missing multiple weeks due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
“One of the reasons that I am on the team is to put the ball in the hoop,” Porter Jr. said. “So, if we are having trouble scoring, I definitely try to make myself more available and be more aggressive. That is definitely something that I try to do.”
Nuggets JaMychal Green added this about Porter Jr.: “He didn’t skip a beat. I don’t know if he has a gym at his own house or what, but it seems like he hasn’t missed a game. He came back and has been playing big for us. We are excited to have him back.”
Dallas fought hard in the second half, but they have to find ways to get off to better starts. Dallas will get back at it Wednesday night against the red-hot Jazz, who have won eight straight.
Notes:
After the game, Hardaway Jr. discussed the incident with Murray:
“Just playing the game,” Hardaway Jr. said. “I guess he was just frustrated they didn’t call the foul. So, I was trying to do the best I can to deny the ball. The rest speaks for itself. I mean, it happens in games. It sucks, but it doesn’t even matter we lost.”
-Doncic tied John Havlicek for the 13th-most triple-doubles in NBA history with the 31st of his career on Monday night.
We will be talking sports and having fun doing it. We were joined by Phoenix Suns PG Cam Payne who talked the following:
-Jamal Murray-Donovan Mitchell
-OKC-Rockets-His time with his Suns in the bubble
-Devin Booker-Suns’ chances of making the playoffs next season
-Russell Westbrook triple-double season, his dance with Westbrook
-Life in the bubble
-Social Justice
-Thunder losing to Warriors in WCF after being up 3-1
-COVID-19
-What Payne needs to do to stay consistent
Watch interview here:
Listen to interview here:
