The 2023 NBA Finals are now a best of five. On Sunday, the Miami Heat won game two of the championship round with a 111-108 win over the Denver Nuggets at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado to tie the best out of seven series at a game apiece.
It was quite simply a gritty effort for the Heat organization, who had a solid start and solid finish. They outscored the Nuggets 26-17 over the first nine minutes and 48 seconds, and then outscored Denver 36-25 in the final 12 minutes.
The Nuggets were very disciplined in game one as Miami only had two free throws. Game two was a much different story, as the Heat had 20 free throws, of which they scored 18 points.
Denver also struggled with their three-point defense. They gave up a total of 51 points from downtown, as Miami made 17 of their 35 three-point attempts. Shooting guard Max Strus of Hickory Hills, Illinois made four of 10 three-point attempts in game two after going zero for nine in three-point attempts in game one. Gabe Vincent of Modesto, California, who made five three-point attempts in the first game of the series, made four three-point shots in game two to tie with Strus for the team lead.
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Five Heat players reached double digits in scoring. Vincent had 23 points, Jimmy Butler of Houston Texas and Bam Adebayo of Newark, New Jersey had 21 points each. Strus had 14 points, and Duncan Robinson of York, Maine had 10 points. Meanwhile, Kevin Love of Santa Monica, California led the Heat with 10 rebounds.
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The Heat meanwhile need to be praised for limiting Nikola Jokic to four assists. Yes, he had 41 points, but a major part of his game is his ability to pass, and the spaces just were not there for Denver in game two. The series now shifts to Miami with game three on Wednesday.
