NBA Finals 2023: 5 factors that led to Miami Heat's stunning win against the Denver Nuggets
For the first time in the 2023 playoffs, the Denver Nuggets got beaten on their home floor. This came against the plucky Miami Heat in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Thus, the championship series is now tied at one apiece, as Miami fought it out in the fourth quarter to snatch a much-needed road victory.
Here are the five factors that made the Heat victorious in Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals:
#1. Great 4th quarter for the Miami Heat
Just when the game was swinging back in Denver's favor after a horrendous start, the Heat got their act together and outworked the Nuggets. Trailing 75-83 after three periods, Miami started to click on all cylinders to outscore the Nuggets 36-25 in the deciding quarter, eking out a 111-108 victory.
After a horrible third quarter wherein the Heat fell by 15 in one instance, Jimmy Butler started to be more aggressive on offense. Butler scored eight of his 21 points in the payoff period after facilitating for his teammates almost exclusively in the first three quarters of the game.
#2. Three-point accuracy
The Heat have been living and dying by their three-point shots in the playoffs. In the first game of the finals, Miami shot themselves in the foot by missing 26 of their shots from distance. Max Strus in fact bricked his nine attempts from rainbow territory, while Duncan Robinson was 1-of-5 as Denver won the series opener.
However, in a complete turnaround, the Heat were plus-18 in three-pointers to overcome Denver’s dominance in terms of paint points and fast break points. Max Strus and the consistent Gabe Vincent led Miami with four threes each, while Duncan Robinson, Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry added two apiece.
The Miami Heat had an astonishing 48.6 percent from distance while the Denver Nuggets had only connected on 11 out of their 28 attempts.
#3. Undrafted gems and veterans’ contributions
Despite Caleb Martin’s second straight bad game, the rest of Miami’s undrafted gems carried the fight in the huge Game 2 victory. Gabe Vincent had a game-high 23 points while Max Strus (14) and Duncan Robinson (10) combined for 24 points.
Giving Miami a big boost, veteran Kevin Love, who started the game for the first time in the series, hauled down 10 rebounds and added two threes. The steady presence of Kyle Lowry helped the Miami Heat’s cause, as the one-time champion contributed nine points and three assists in almost 24 minutes of action.
#4. Jimmy Butler played the facilitator
After passing on most of his open looks and choosing to pass to his teammates instead, Jimmy Butler went aggressive in the fourth quarter. Butler, who finished with nine assists, successfully involved his teammates all game long, giving them open looks and easier shots.
Butler’s unselfishness was contagious for the rest of the Heat, as Miami finished with 28 assists in the game. On the other hand, the Denver Nuggets only had 23 dimes, a far cry from their 29-assist performance in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
#5. Miami contained Nikola Jokic's assists
Although Nicola Jokic exploded for 41 points and 10 rebounds in the game, Miami was able to limit his total assists to only four. Despite being aggressive right from the get-go, Jokic was forced to take most of the shots instead of dishing off to his teammates.
The Heat's defense was able to shut down the passing lanes, which ultimately resulted in the Joker being required to score. Jokic who averaged 10.5 assists per game during the postseason, made a handful of passes that did find his teammates but most of them ended with missed shots.
Jamal Murray was able to fill in the gap, however, with his 10 assists, but the Canadian was limited to just 18 points, connecting only three-of-8 from distance. Murray also missed on a potential equalizer at the buzzer as he couldn’t connect on his three-point shot.
Far from his 14-assist performance in Game 1, Jokic’s four dimes are one of his playoff worst in terms of passes that led to either two or three-pointers.