The red-hot Nuggets brought their NBA Finals match against the Miami Heat down to South Beach and came away with a dominating 3-1 lead. The action now returns to Denver, where the Nuggets can close off the Heat and earn the franchise’s first NBA championship.
Injury Update for Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat
Following a disappointing loss in game 2, Mike Malone chastised his squad for not playing hard enough and matching the Heat’s energy.
Well, I believe his message was received since the Nuggets won two games in Miami to take a 3-1 lead. And both victories were rather simple, since both were in double figures, including Friday night’s 108-95 triumph.
Malone, on the other hand, knows what the Heat are capable of and how they never give up, and he’ll have his squad prepared.
“We haven’t done a damn thing yet,” Malone declared, according to ESPN. “We need to win another game to be crowned world champions.” Our men are all in, man. We’re concentrated.”
Nikola Jokic contributed 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Nikola Jokic entered the NBA Finals as a heavy favorite to win the Finals MVP award, and you’ll be surprised to learn that after building a nearly insurmountable 3-1 lead, the two-time regular-season MVP is now considered a near lock to win the award if the Denver Nuggets win the championship at any point over the next three games.
So far, Jokic has averaged 30.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and eight assists per game versus the Miami Heat.
In Game 3, he had the first 30/20/10 Finals game in NBA history, scored 41 points in Denver’s Game 2 loss, and even when he’s not racking up stats, he’s the engine behind everything the Nuggets do. Jokic would have to suffer a historic collapse to lose this prize.
Meanwhile, Aaron Gordon came through with 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Bruce Brown had 21 points off the bench, and Jamal Murray had 15 points and 12 assists.
The Miami Heat’s run to the NBA finals as an 8 seed and a play-in team that lost its first play-in game stunned the globe. However, that trip is coming to an end as they face an elimination game on Monday, behind 3-1.
The previous time they faced an elimination game on the road was in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Boston, which they handily won. But this is a much more difficult sequence because they are behind 3-1 and face two more elimination games if they win this one.
They were simply overwhelmed on Friday night in Denver, as the Nuggets defeated them 108-95 in front of their home crowd.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, while Bam Adebayo chipped in 20 points and eleven rebounds.
“Now we’re in a must-win situation, every single game — which we know we’re capable of,” Butler said, according to ESPN. “It’s not impossible.”
Tyler Herro is still sidelined due to a broken hand. Will he take part in this life-or-death game? They’ll need him or someone else to step up because his successors, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent, have been awful.
Injury Report Heat:
| PLAYER | INJURY |
STATUS
|
| Tyler Herro | Hand |
Expected to be out until at least Jun 15
|
| Victor Oladipo | Knee |
Out for the season
|
Injury Report Nuggets:
| PLAYER | INJURY |
STATUS
|
| Collin Gillespie | Lower Leg |
Out for the season
|
