Nikola Jokic has guided Denver to their first NBA title in franchise history, the Nuggets overcoming dreadful shooting and a late flurry from Miami’s Jimmy Butler to squeeze past the Heat 94-89 in Game 5.
Jokic had 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, and earned NBA Finals MVP honours — a trophy certainly more meaningful to him than the two overall MVPs he won in 2021 and 2022.
He bailed out the Nuggets, going 12 for 16 from the floor on a night when none of his teammates could find the basket. Denver missed 20 of their first 22 three-point attempts and seven of their first 13 free throws, yet somehow closed out the series on their home floor.
Butler scored eight straight points to help the Heat take an 87-86 lead with 2:45 left after trailing by seven. He made two more free throws with 1:58 remaining to help Miami regain a one-point lead. Then, Bruce Brown got an offensive rebound and tip-in to give the Nuggets the lead for good.
Trailing by three with 15 seconds left, Butler jacked up a 3, but missed it. Brown made two free throws to put the game out of reach and clinch the title for Denver.
“We are not in it for ourselves, we are in it for the guy next to us,” Jokic said.
“And that’s why this (means) even more.”
Jack White, the 25-year-old Victorian and former Cairns Taipans and Melbourne United small forward, became the first Australian to win a championship, and seventh all-time, since Matthew Dellavedova in 2016.
White was a two-way player for Denver during the season, meaning he was rostered for both the Nuggets and their G-League affiliate Grand Rapids Gold.
He only played in 17 NBA games in the season, the last of which coming on April 4, but will be awarded a championship ring.
This was a frenetic affair, but the aftermath was something the Nuggets and their fans could all agree was beautiful. Denver is the home of the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time in the franchise’s 47 years in the league.
“It was ugly and we couldn’t make shots, but at the end we figured it out,” Jokic said.
“I am just happy we won the game.”
The Heat were, as coach Erik Spoelstra promised, a gritty, tenacious bunch. But their shooting wasn’t great, either. Bam Adebayo had 20 points, but Miami shot 34 per cent from the floor and 25 per cent from outside. Until Butler went off, he was two for 13 for eight points.
The Heat, who survived a loss in the Play-In tournament and became only the second No.8 seed to make it to the finals, insisted they weren’t into consolation prizes.
They played like they expected to win, and for a while during this game, which was settled more on the ground than in the air, it looked like they would.
Butler finished with 21 points for the Heat.
© AAP
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