Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets have been dealing with some questions going into their first NBA Finals, and their solutions got here in resounding trend.
No, per week and a half off didn’t harm them.
And no, the NBA’s greatest stage isn’t too huge, both.
Jokic acquired a triple-double in his finals debut, Jamal Murray scored 26 factors and the Nuggets had little hassle with the cold-shooting Miami Heat on the way in which to a 104-93 win in Game 1 on Thursday night time.
“I think that’s what the beauty of this team is,” Murray mentioned. “We have so many different weapons and so many different looks. You’ve got to guard everybody. … Free-flowing, and it’s a lot of fun.”
The Heat had been 3-0 in openers to this point in these playoffs, all on the highway, however Denver continues to be unbeaten at house. Game 1 winners within the finals go on to win the title almost 70% of the time.
Advantage, Nuggets.
“That was one of my last messages to the group before our game,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone mentioned. “I reminded our group, if they didn’t know, that Miami went into Milwaukee and won Game 1. They went into the Garden in New York City and won Game 1. They won Game 1 up in Boston. So, we did not want them coming in here taking control of the series on our court.”
Jokic was the one in management. The two-time NBA MVP completed with 27 factors, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who waited 47 years to make the finals and didn’t disappoint.
“The most important thing is to win a game,” Jokic mentioned after his ninth triple- double of this 12 months’s playoffs — his sixth in his final seven video games. “I’m trying to win a game in any possible way.”
Aaron Gordon added 16 factors and Michael Porter Jr. scored 14 for Denver, which trailed for all of 34 seconds and finally led by as many as 24.
Bam Adebayo completed with 26 factors and 13 rebounds for Miami, which shot 41% for the sport — 33% from 3-point vary. Gabe Vincent scored 19, Haywood Highsmith had 18 and Jimmy Butler added 13 for the Heat.
Miami was 2 for two from the foul line — an evening like none different in NBA playoff historical past.
It tied the fewest free throws ever made in a playoff sport, broke the report for fewest makes an attempt from the road in a playoff sport — the earlier report was three — and set NBA Finals data for fewest free throws made and tried. The Los Angeles Lakers had the earlier marks there, going 3 for five from the road in opposition to Philadelphia on May 26, 1983.
“We’ve got to attack the rim a lot more, myself included,” Butler mentioned.
Added Adebayo, tongue firmly in cheek: “We made history“
Game 2 is in Denver on Sunday night.
Miami opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, cutting an 84-63 deficit to start the final period down to 84-74. The Heat actually got within nine on a 3-pointer by Highsmith with 2:34 left, but no closer and there wasn’t any doubt, either.
“It’s a long series,” Vincent mentioned. “First to four wins. Adjustments will be made. And we will learn from this loss.”
Malone gave his crew a pop quiz in shootaround Thursday morning, peppering them with questions concerning the sport plan and what needed to be executed in an important sport to this point in franchise historical past.
They had all of the solutions then. Had all of them at sport time, too. They have been the crew with minimal NBA Finals expertise, solely two gamers having been to the title spherical earlier than, and but they seemed proper at house earlier than the house crowd in Game 1.
“We were ready,” Denver guard Bruce Brown mentioned.
Jokic turned the second participant within the final 25 years — LeBron James was the opposite, in 2017 — to have 10 assists by halftime of a finals sport. He had 10 factors and 10 assists by the break, and Denver was up 59-42 after the primary two quarters — with Jokic taking solely three photographs.
“I don’t need to shoot and I know I don’t need to score to affect the game,“ Jokic said.
Meanwhile, the Heat just couldn’t shoot. At all. Or at least, not until Denver was too far ahead to catch.
Caleb Martin, who narrowly missed out on winning the MVP award of the Eastern Conference finals, was 1 for 7. And Max Strus was 0 for 10, 0 for 9 on 3-pointers, and became just the second player in the last 45 years to take that many shots without a make in a finals game.
The other, somewhat surprisingly: Ray Allen, a past Heat finals hero who was 0 for 13 for Boston against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.
“I didn’t even look at the box score yet, but like I said, I think the disposition, the efforts were more appropriate in the second half,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra mentioned. “But that’s not enough. It has to be for a full game, and you also have to make some plays when you’re beat.”
TIP-INS
Heat: Miami fell to 1-6 all-time in Game 1s of the NBA Finals. The Heat misplaced the collection opener in every of their title years — 2006, 2012 and 2013 — and the one win got here in 2011, a collection they finally misplaced to Dallas. … Adebayo’s 25 photographs have been a profession excessive. He turned the third participant to attain a minimum of 24 factors for Miami in a Game 1 of a finals. James did it thrice for the Heat and Dwyane Wade did it in 2006.
Nuggets: Jokic turned the eighth participant to have a triple-double in Game 1 of a finals. None of the others have been accompanied by 27 factors; Dave Cowens had a 25-point triple-double to open the 1976 finals. … Brown, who performed his faculty ball at Miami, scored 10. … Denver acquired to the foul line 20 occasions.
CELEB WATCH
Among these within the sellout crowd: Grammy winner H.E.R., former Denver quarterback Peyton Manning, present Denver quarterback Russell Wilson, Broncos coach Sean Payton and actor-comedian Ken Jeong.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
