Nikola Jokic's Nuggets are one win away from ending Denver's 47-year title drought on Monday. The Nuggets took a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals on Friday night after beating the Miami Heat 108-95 behind 27 points from Gordon and 23 from Jokic.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone stated, "We haven't done a damn thing yet." To become world champions, we must win another game.
The Nuggets won their fifth straight road game behind Bruce Brown's 21 points. They'll have three opportunities to win a title, two in Denver, the first in Game 5's boisterous atmosphere.
Denver's Jamal Murray recorded 15 points and 12 assists, his fourth consecutive double-digit assist game. “We worked together today.” said Murray. No one comes to mind. Everyone confined. There's one more.”
Miami's Jimmy Butler scored 25 points as it fell into a 3-1 deficit in their past three finals appearances, joining 2014 and 2020. Kyle Lowry added 13 points to the Heat's Bam Adebayo's 20 points and 11 rebounds.
The Heat left the floor in silence, knowing they're in trouble. For obvious reasons, the Nuggets started the series as heavy favorites. Miami was the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed, while Denver was the Western Conference's No. 1.
Through four games of the finals, the Nuggets have won nine of the last 10 regular-season encounters against the Heat. Malone added, "Our guys are locked in, man." We're concentrated.
Denver led by 13 going into the fourth, and Miami came out desperate in the final quarter. The Heat scored the first eight points, Jokic incurred his fifth foul and had to leave the game with 9:24 left, and Butler executed a three-point play with 8:42 left to cut it to 86-81.
Even without their two-time MVP, the Nuggets didn't give up after losing Game 2 in the fourth quarter. Murray made a 3-pointer to end Miami's 8-0 run, and Jeff Green hit a massive corner 3 from near the Heat bench for a 94-85 lead with 6:21 left.
Denver up 10, Jokic left. With the Nuggets up nine, he returned. Miami missed its chance and is now on the wrong side of history. To prevent Denver from winning the NBA Finals, the Heat must overcome a 3-1 deficit.
Erik Spoelstra, Heat coach, remarked, "We have an incredibly competitive group." We've done everything the hard way, and we'll have to do it again. Getting it back to the 305 is our only goal. Bring it to Miami. And things might change rapidly.”
After one quarter, Miami led 21-20. The first quarter of Game 4 of the Toronto-Golden State series in 2019 had 40 points.