Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
We have a series. As if it was ever in doubt.
Above all else, the Eastern Conference Finals came down to shooting. Miami played harder and smarter than Boston, yes, but after the Celtics’ furious comeback from a three-game hole to tie the series and force a Game 7, the final game would come down to what had defined the series to that point. And sure enough, in Game 7, Boston went cold, and Miami poured it on just as they had all series. The Heat shot 14-of-28 from three while Boston made just nine of its 42 attempts. Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent, Jimmy Butler, and Duncan Robinson were all lights out, as the Heat stomped the Celtics, 103-84.
They’d caught fire at the proper time: Just days before the NBA Finals were set to begin.
So it was only fitting that the Heat would make just 13 of their 39 attempts in Game 1 of the Finals, with cold-shooting performances coming from Martin, Robinson, and fellow sharp-shooter, Max Strus. The Nuggets were dominant, composed, and not-at-all rusty despite the significant difference in days off between the two teams. “Where was the Heat team that set nets aflame in the ECF?”, one had to wonder.
Apparently, they were just waiting for Game 2. The Heat shot a far-more-fitting 17-of-35 from three in Sunday’s second game of the series and tied the Finals at 1-1 with a 111-108 win in Denver. The Heat countered a brilliant offensive performance from Nikola Jokic (41 points) with a well-rounded team effort, led by Vincent (23 points), Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo (21 apiece), and six triples between Robinson and Strus.
It was hardly a cakewalk, though. The Heat trailed by as many as 15 points, including an eight-point deficit entering the final frame. Given Denver’s dominance at home this season, it was all adding up. Until Miami outscored Denver 17-5 in the first three minutes of the fourth and never looked back. Though the Nuggets tried (in vain) to make it a game, cutting the lead to three and giving Jamal Murray a three-point attempt in the closing seconds that would have tied the game, it was all Miami in the fourth, no questions about it.
This loss for Denver marks the first time since March 30 that the Nuggets lost at home, and the first time they’ve lost at Ball Arena all postseason. Murray had 18 points and 10 assists for Denver, while Aaron Gordon had 12 points and Bruce Brown scored 11. Simply put, the Heat’s supporting cast was better in Game 2, despite the fact that Caleb Martin — who should have been the Eastern Conference Finals MVP — has been a no-show all series.
No matter. The Heat won a game by five points or fewer for the 44th time this season, and won in Denver for the first time in nearly 2,400 days. The series, now tied, shifts back to Miami for Games 3 and 4 starting with Game 3 on Wednesday.
