And three for Denver, who did not miss the opportunity to drive home the point against a Miami team too irregular to hope to compete with such a war machine. Because beyond the Murray-Jokic pair, one of the most productive in the league, it’s a whole collective that still had the opportunity to deploy its strength.
Under tension at the start of the game, the Heat missed their start, quickly conceding 7 points against an aggressive Jamal Murray and the outside address of the Caldwell-Pope-Brown tandem (11-18). Jimmy Butler then launched the machine on transition twice then on a 3-point basket from the corner at the buzzer to put the locals in the lead (21-20).
A short-lived thinning since Denver quickly resumed its march forward. On fire in the first half, Aaron Gordon set the tone with two 3-point missiles, then imitated by Nikola Jokic to put the Nuggets back in the lead. The aggressiveness of Michael Porter Jr and the basketball IQ of Jamal Murray and KCP faced a brief onslaught from Florida (45-52). Mike Malone’s troop advance increased to +9 on two MPJ rolls. But once again, it was Miami who finished better, with two huge dunks from Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry, also incisive in his style (51-55).
Denver in control, even without its “Joker”
Not enough to cool the Nuggets so far, quite the contrary, since Denver then took a 13-point lead after a 10-3 then a 7-0 as soon as they returned from the locker room, two streaks that looked like a show of force highlighting all the offensive assets of this team (61-74).
Five minutes from the end of the third quarter, with their backs to the wall, the Floridians were unable to stop this collective in full confidence, like the passage of Bruce Brown then Aaron Gordon, who still shone with 7 points to maintain a 13-point lead in favor of his team at the end of the third quarter, between his alley-oop served by Jokic and his 3-point from the corner (73-86).
Everything almost changed at the start of the last act, when Nikola Jokic conceded his 4th and 5th personal fouls, on a pass in defense then on a position against Bam Adebayo in attack. Miami then regained hope by attacking the period with an 8-0 initiated by Duncan Robinson at 3-point and concluded with a 2+1 from Jimmy Butler (81-86).
In turn, Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green and Bruce Brown allowed Denver to preserve the essentials. After his lay-up in transition and then his free throw, Bruce Brown launched the Nuggets’ final run with a 2+1 and a new lay-up in the face of Bam Adebayo (91-102). Denver was then able to savor this new success, 108 to 95, which brings the Colorado franchise a little closer to its very first title.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— An alert without consequence for Nikola Jokic. This is Game 4’s first match event, when Nikola Jokic twisted his ankle from the start of the first quarter. In the fight for the rebound under the circle, the pivot of the Nuggets landed badly on the foot of Max Strus, causing a slight twist. Concern quickly grew around the Serb who had to go to the locker room after 12 minutes to check the condition of his ankle. Everything then returned to normal, and the Joker was able to evolve with his usual performance.
— The collective domination of the Nuggets. If the Murray-Jokic pair burst the screen in Game 3, Denver was able to rely this time on other weapons to complicate the task of the Heat. The 1-5 axis of the Nuggets has of course worked at full speed, but the substantial contributions of Aaron Gordon (27 points, Bruce Brown (23 points), and even Michael Porter Jr (11 points), rewarded for his aggressiveness in attack, thus allowing Denver to maintain the head of the Floridians under water until the end.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Aaron Gordon. He was the strongman of the first half with aggression on the inside, from the address to 3-pointers to score 16 of his 27 points at the break. Like at home in these two games in Florida, the former Magic interior was once again useful to the Denver collective, with in particular this end of the third quarter concluded by a 3-pointer which almost sealed the Heat’s fate. .
✅⛔ Nikola Jokic. Two avoidable offensive faults throughout his match which almost called everything into question… The Serbian pivot would have been inspired to avoid a good spawn for his team while the Heat came back strong. Until his exit from the track at the start of the fourth quarter, he had delivered a new imperial performance.
✅ Bruce Brown. Constant production throughout the game with the best fourth quarter of his career as the icing on the cake.
✅ Jimmy Butler. Not much to blame the leader of the Heat who will have been present in the good shots and will have done his best to resist the opposing steamroller. Denver was just too strong again in this game.
✅ Bam Adebayo. He certainly suffered against Nikola Jokic, but we can only take away his determination and his aggressiveness. He was present in the rare strong moments of the Heat in attack and also struggled in defense like his counter on Jamal Murray which revived a semblance of hope at the start of the fourth quarter. It is also he who causes Nikola Jokic’s 5th foul.
⛔ The Vincent-Strus duo. Often highlighted in these playoffs for their ability to tip indecisive matches, the two backs were discreet to say the least in this match, at a 1/10 in cumulative shooting.
THE FOLLOWING
Return to Denver for Game 5 in the night from Monday to Tuesday (02:30).
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
