“,”elementId”:”ea102740-4a02-4f72-8abe-e9ea6cf84b7c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The Heat don’t try to foul. It’s over.
“,”elementId”:”7bd7665b-d1a0-4d04-9785-df58f16d7104″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1686625248000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”23.00 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1686625306000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”23.01 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1686625306000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”23.01 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”23.01″,”title”:”Denver wins the NBA championship”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 12 Jun 2023 23.18 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 12 Jun 2023 19.30 EDT”},{“id”:”6487c8c08f0862658b7a4579″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Strus misses a shot off an inbounds play with the shot clock nearly gone.
“,”elementId”:”7c5f027f-3f34-4ee2-b971-c075fe9d2461″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Jokić flings it ahead to Caldwell-Pope, whose layup attempt will make every high school and youth coach in the country cringe.
“,”elementId”:”0851df77-e51c-4dbd-b1c3-baf90b46eadd”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Miami misses, and Porter slams a beauty on a nifty Jokić pass.
“,”elementId”:”5d483338-2a2a-42d7-a106-63ad12a8bd2a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Miami misses again, and Jokić lets fly from 67 feet (according to ESPN’s stats page) at the buzzer. He doesn’t miss by much.
“,”elementId”:”3fefe105-169b-458a-81ef-2f5d7a1a218f”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1686620352000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”21.39 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1686620491000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”21.41 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1686620491000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”21.41 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”21.41″,”title”:”Halftime: Heat 51-44 Nuggets”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 12 Jun 2023 23.18 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 12 Jun 2023 19.30 EDT”},{“id”:”6487baa28f0862658b7a4508″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Starters
“,”elementId”:”b44cf8c4-b4ff-4c58-9760-8df04cdb668b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Denver: Porter, Murray, Jokić, Gordon, Caldwell-Pope
“,”elementId”:”8011cb35-3a05-45af-b8c1-5020ccab13a0″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Miami: Strus, Vincent, Butler, Adebayo, Love
“,”elementId”:”08488179-7d94-4f9b-b162-415344f34f38″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1686616738000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”20.38 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1686616803000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”20.40 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1686616803000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”20.40 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”20.40″,”title”:”Tipoff!”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Mon 12 Jun 2023 23.18 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Mon 12 Jun 2023 19.30 EDT”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”format”:{“display”:0,”theme”:2,”design”:10},”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”}”>
Key events
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
On that note, head on over to see our game report. Thanks for following along with me – it wasn’t the prettiest of games, but the Nuggets earned it the hard way.
MVP award goes to …
Commissioner Adam Silver notes that it’s the first time they’ve given the award for Finals MVP since its namesake, Bill Russell, passed away.
The winner is … quite obvious. It’s Jokić.
From the inbox – Sarah Rothwell reports fireworks going off in her neighborhood in Denver.
Owner Stan Kroenke leans into interviewer Lisa Salters’ ear to talk about what it means to win this championship. Maybe it’ll make up for his Arsenal team fading in the Premier League.
Now to coach Michael Malone, who smartly thanks the fans and raises the bar.
“I got news for everybody. We’re not satisfied with one. We want more!”
Some box-score nuggets, er, notes …
– Denver finally hit some big 3s late but still finished only 5 of 28.
– Miami wasn’t much better, at 9 for 35. Worse, they shot 34.4% overall. They got 96 shots but only hit 33.
– The Jokić line: 28 points on 12-for-16 shooting (1-for-3 from 3-point range), 16 rebounds, four assists.
– Tyler Herro did not appear in the game despite being available.
YOUR DENVER NUGGETS ARE THE 2023 NBA CHAMPIONS 🏆#bRINGItIn pic.twitter.com/aOHqbUYwOx
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) June 13, 2023
n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1668453675600330754″,”id”:”1668453675600330754″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”5cfa9d4f-5fa3-4f55-88c0-a733b649325f”}}”>
“It was an ugly game,” Jokić says, but they figured it out defensively and held on.
How do you feel now, Nikola?
“It’s good. It’s good. The job is done. We can go home now.”
Jamal Murray is bent over in tears of joy and relief. Someone interrupts and jams a commemorative baseball cap in his arms, because we can’t have genuine moments any more without donning the title apparel.
Denver wins the NBA championship
Lowry misses. Caldwell-Pope gets the rebound.
The Heat don’t try to foul. It’s over.
Miami has taken its last timeout.
Heat 89-94 Nuggets, 14.3 seconds, 4th quarter
Butler misses from 3. Brown rebound. Fouled. Hits both.
I see a flurry of tweets from WolfPrincess, who is hopping mad about that call to put Butler on the line for three. That was inexplicable. Simply not grounded in reality.
Heat 89-92 Nuggets, 24.1 seconds, 4th quarter
Jokić can’t get it to go this time, and Gordon’s tip attempt misses.
Butler drives himself into trouble, and Caldwell-Pope steals his desperation pass.
Lowry fouls Caldwell-Pope, who’ll go to the line.
He makes both. Miami uses its second-to-last timeout.
Denver might be one stop away from the win.
Heat 89-90 Nuggets, 1:30, 4th quarter
Lowry is all over Jokić. Foul. Not in the bonus yet.
Murray misses a tough fadeaway, but Bruce Brown puts it back.
Heat 89-88 Nuggets, 1:56, 4th quarter
Butler makes all three free throws.
That’s a howler. It’s one thing to miss a call in the heat of the moment. The game goes by fast. But to miss it that badly after plenty of time to look at a replay?
Miss from Denver. Butler scores at the other end. He has Miami’s last 11 points, and the Heat lead by one.
Jokić answers.
Butler misses a 3, but Adebayo keeps the rebound alive, and Butler drives and draws a foul – a real one this time. He makes both. He’s gone from eight points to 21 in no time flat.
What?
The call on the floor stands.
That’s atrocious.
Heat 82-86 Nuggets, 3:21, 4th quarter
A patient possession for Denver ends where they want it to end – Jokić in the middle for two.
Jimmy Butler finally re-emerges with a 3. It’s still not over.
Then Caldwell-Pope launches one toward the heavens. It lands with a neat little roll through the net for 3.
Butler answers with another 3, nearly doubling his point total in two possessions.
A Denver miss, and now we have Butler shooting a 3 and drawing a foul …
Or did he? Denver challenges the call, and from our look at the replay, they’re going to win. The only contact was from Butler, reaching out a leg in desperation.
Heat 76-81 Nuggets, 5:13, 4th quarter
Caldwell-Pope returns despite the injury concern.
Strus misses an ill-advised shot. Miami keeps it and gets another chance, but it ends up in the hands of Jokić for the big man’s 16th rebound.
But Jokić tries to get a little too cute with a pass at the other end. As badly as things are going for Miami right now, the Nuggets just can’t pull away.
Heat 76-81 Nuggets, 6:42, 4th quarter
Miss. Miss. Miss. Strus blocks a shot by Braun – a spectacular play, that one. Gordon blocks a shot by Lowry, practically slamming it into the floor as the shot clock nears zero.
Finally, Murray hits a jumper for the first points in about two and a half minutes. Another Miami timeout, and the Nuggets are creeping closer to the title.
Heat 76-79 Nuggets, 8:36, 4th quarter
A great defensive sequence for the Nuggets … until Caleb Martin zips through the lane and scores.
Both teams miss, then Jokić does what he does best.
Kyle Lowry, though, is Miami’s wild card tonight. Another 3 cuts the lead to one.
Denver goes back to Jokić. Adebayo plays good defense. Not good enough. He scores.
Great D from Denver again, then an offensive rebound from Gordon and a cut underneath by Braun, the rookie having a breakthrough night. He’s fouled. He misses both.
Heat 71-75 Nuggets, 10:59, 4th quarter
Yeah, the Nuggets have the momentum now. Jokić opens the quarter with an easy bucket. Miami squanders a chance, and Denver works the ball around to Murray, who calmly drains a 3-pointer.
Timeout Heat. Erik Spoelstra didn’t build his 15-year resume of excellence in Miami by letting games like this get away without a fight.
Jimmy Butler? Still stuck with eight points.
Injury alert on Caldwell-Pope:
Injury Update: KCP is questionable to return to tonight's game with a right wrist sprain.
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) June 13, 2023
n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/nuggets/status/1668444688330936320″,”id”:”1668444688330936320″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”e8a2df08-c229-4b6d-8836-77dad0f4d709″}}”>
Injury Update: KCP is questionable to return to tonight’s game with a right wrist sprain.
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) June 13, 2023
Heat 71-70 Nuggets, end 3rd quarter
So not all long-range 3s are bad ideas. Lowry drains one from 29, and the Heat go back up by 1.
Jokić feeds to Braun, but the Heat defenders converge and give him no room.
How big will that Lowry shot be? Will the Heat gain any confidence from having the lead at this stage? It still feels as though the momentum has shifted Denver’s way. And they might be 12 minutes (plus ads) away from their first NBA championship.
Heat 68-70 Nuggets, 54.1 seconds, 3rd quarter
Philosophical question: Is Duncan Robinson related to Colin Robinson from What We Do in the Shadows? Is the NBA in the Vampire Cinematic Universe?
Anyway, Christian Braun continues his strong supporting role with two free throws to tie it. Then Porter pulls up for three and … he makes it! Nuggets lead for the first time since it was 18-16. (The score. Not the year.)
Adebayo answers with two. He has 20 now.
Heat 64-64 Nuggets, 2:13, 3rd quarter
Another poor shot choice from Miami, with Duncan Robinson flinging one from 28 with the form of a disc golfer.
Jokić finds Caldwell-Pope open for 3. He misses.
Nuggets steal, and Caldwell-Pope races away for a layup. He misses in traffic, but Bruce Brown helpfully tips it back in.
Jokić steals, and Porter snakes his way through a couple of Heat players in transition to tie it.
Stat of the night so far, aside from Denver’s catastrophically lousy 3-point shooting:
Miami plus/minus …
Kevin Love -11
Caleb Martin +20
Heat 62-60 Nuggets, 4:12, 3rd quarter
Early in the game, the Heat were taking good shots but missing. Now they’re taking bad shots. And missing.
But so are the Nuggets. Porter misses an open look from the corner.
Then Jokić tosses the ball the length of the court to Gordon, who catches in traffic and … misses the dunk.
Thanks a lot for taking your improv class tonight, Hunter. Beautiful game you’ve left me. Not.
Heat 60-60 Nuggets, 6:44, 3rd quarter
Jokić hits one of two free throws.
Miami’s Gabe Vincent then makes one of those inexplicable momentum-shifting bad decisions, rushing a shot from 28 feet that hits nothing but backboard.
The Nuggets race back the other way and find Murray in the corner. Will Denver finally gets its second 3-pointer of the game on its 18th attempt?
Yes.
We’re tied.
Heat 60-56 Nuggets, 7:02, 3rd quarter
Here’s another philosophical question …
Let’s say your opponents couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat when they’re shooting from outside. Do you just collapse into the middle, where they’re starting to find some success?
Jokić is in particularly fine form in the middle now. His putback gives him 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Heat 58-51 Nuggets, 8:13, 3rd quarter
So here’s a philosophical question …
Let’s say your team has missed 16 of its first 17 3-pointers in a given game. Do you give up on the entire concept of outside shooting? Or do you figure something has to fall eventually?
Is there such a thing as the “law of averages,” as late Spinal Tap drummer Mick Shrimpton said of his chances to survive the rash of deaths striking those who preceded him in the role?
Anyway, Murray makes a nice drive to cut the lead to four.
Then Kevin Love drains a 3 at the other end as if taunting the hosts.
Heat 53-47 Nuggets, 11:13, 2nd quarter
And we’re back with a missed 3 from Miami.
Jokić works inside, draws a late double team and scores. He’s fouled and converts the free throw.
Strus hits a shot at the other end.
Apologies in advance for any third-quarter commentary issues. I just saw several ads for reality shows, and brain no words makes now.
Need better passing, Denver? Peyton Manning is in the building.
Peyton Manning in Denver for Game 5!#NBACelebRow pic.twitter.com/wVgPChk8xr
— NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2023
n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1668435075615129602″,”id”:”1668435075615129602″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”8597c421-18ee-47b8-8573-22d36687e8d7″}}”>
Here’s that turnover from Jokić to Butler from a few minutes ago.
Jimmy sticking to his bread & butter with the steal & slam
We're up 51-42 with 1:21 left in the half. Catch the rest on ABC 📺 pic.twitter.com/ljbgzurFZa
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) June 13, 2023
n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1668432515139289088″,”id”:”1668432515139289088″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”dc0beb26-f629-411f-a54e-628426c609f6″}}”>
Butler struggled with his shot through much of the half and has labored to get to eight points. Adebayo leads the Heat with 18 points and nine rebounds.
Jokić is nearly on pace for a triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Halftime: Heat 51-44 Nuggets
Strus misses a shot off an inbounds play with the shot clock nearly gone.
Jokić flings it ahead to Caldwell-Pope, whose layup attempt will make every high school and youth coach in the country cringe.
Miami misses, and Porter slams a beauty on a nifty Jokić pass.
Miami misses again, and Jokić lets fly from 67 feet (according to ESPN’s stats page) at the buzzer. He doesn’t miss by much.
Heat 51-42 Nuggets, 1:07, 2nd quarter
Adebayo scores.
Nuggets miss a 3.
Adebayo scores.
That’s a summary of the last 20 seconds and the first half as a whole. Denver is 1 for 14 from behind the arc.
And they’re not any better from the line, where Bruce Brown misses two.
Heat 47-42 Nuggets, 2:13, 2nd quarter
The superstars combine for a basket, with Jokić threading a perfect pass to Butler for a breakaway slam.
Unfortunately for Denver, Butler plays for the Heat. The Nuggets are not taking good care of the ball.
Nor are they hitting 3s. Two bad misses in quick order, but Braun bails them out with a rebound and putback.
Miami misses again, and Jokić sends the ball down to Braun, who drives and draws the foul. The rookie is helping Denver weather a storm here, though he misses the second of his two free throws.
