The Finals: Downtown Brown Locks in 3-1 Lead
Credit: Sports Illustrated
After an exquisite performance from the Nuggets, they grow their lead to 3-1 against the Miami Heat. Nuggets take both victories at the Kaseya Center and will return home to Ball Arena on Monday for Game 5, giving the Nuggets to chance to win the Championship at home. High energy ran throughout the arena Friday, with high-profile celebrities coming out for the game. The Heat put up a good fight down to the last minute but were unable to hold it together.
Nuggets won with a final score of 108-95, staying ahead for most of the game. A significant factor in the Nuggets' victory was their shooting from the three-point line, shooting 50% compared to Heat's 32%. Both teams were relatively close with their rebounds, with the Nuggets having 34 and the Heat having 37. The Heat struggled significantly with shooting causing 14 turnovers and forcing them to fall behind. The Heat seemed to have butter on their fingers, allowing the Nuggets to have 11 steals against them. The Heat seem burned out from the series against the Celtics, which gave them no time to rest before jumping into the Finals. Nuggets were given 9 days of rest after sweeping the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
With no intentions of slowing down, Nikola Jokic continues to break NBA records throughout this series. Jokic becomes the first NBA player in history to record 500 points, 250 rebounds, and 150 assists in a single postseason. Jokic's brothers and wife have attended every game to support him and take pictures with dedicated fans. Jokic went out in the first quarter after rolling his ankle and walked back to the locker room (stressing out fans), but returned to the bench within minutes and finished the night scoring 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists with 37 minutes of playing time.
Jokic's dynamic duo teammate, Jamal Murray, also broke two records on Friday night. Murray became the first player in NBA history with 10+ plus assists in his first 4 Final games. Murray has surpassed his high performance in the bubble back in 2020. Murray is part of an elite group of players that include: Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Stephen Curry, Jerry West, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic, to average 25 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds through 50 playoff games.
Credit: Wilfredo Lee
Aaron Gordon has been ramping up his performance throughout the playoffs and had his best night of the series. Gordon set a playoff career-high with 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jokic and Gordon had strong chemistry with big passes and behind-the-head layups. Gordon spoke about his chemistry postgame, "Just throw it up, I'll go get it." Gordon also mentioned postgame about his performance, "It can be something different on a given night. Every night, I get to just be myself". The Nuggets have proven to be a very humble yet hardworking team.
The star of the night for the Nuggets was yet another bench player. In his first year on the Nuggets, Bruce Brown has played a significant role in this year's playoffs. Brown attended the University of Miami and was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 2018. Brown is a hometown favorite wearing hats and jerseys of other Colorado teams to games. Brown has averaged 12.1 points per game in the playoffs, and Friday night scored 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, going 3-5 from the three-point line. Brown got 30 minutes, the most he has earned during this series. Brown hit a three from downtown in the 4th quarter, which sealed the Nuggets' win. Postgame, Jokic commented on the three, "I wanted to punch him, but when he made it, I was so happy." The Nuggets became more animated this game, hoping to come closer to a Championship.
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The Heat struggled Friday night to put points on the board, but Bam Adebayo still had an incredible performance. He scored 20 points, 11 assists, and 3 rebounds. Adebayo unlocked extra hops and had a fantastic backboard block against Jamal Murray's layup. Adebayo also had a floating slam dunk that had the stadium shaking. Jimmy Butler also had a good night scoring 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. The Heat don't seem to be fazed by the loss. Teammate Gabe Vincent said, "We're not gonna get too high or too low. Things are gonna be difficult, and we just gotta continue to stay the course." The Heat will have to replicate their Game 2 performance to keep the series going.
Credit: Jake Shapiro / DenverSports.com
Despite being down in the series, The Heat have the confidence to win the series. To keep the fans engaged, they gave towels to all the fans at the stadium with a special message that had fans fired up. The towel named each team that the Heat has beaten in the playoffs with the names crossed out…except for Denver.
Miami Heat star Tyler Herro, who in the regular season averaged 20.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, did not play in Game 4, and there is apparently news that he is pushing hard to return to Game 5. Herro suffered a right-hand injury earlier in the postseason. Could he be the answer to keep the Heat alive in this series?
Game 5 returns to Ball Arena Monday night at 8:30pm Eastern Time/6:30pm Mountain Time. The Nuggets will have the chance to win their first NBA Championship in history at home. You can catch the game on ABC.
