If Erik Spoelstra started this final keeping Caleb Martin in the starting five, Michael Malone and the nuggets responded by taking advantage of their height advantage to pound the Heat in the racket. LikeAaron Gordonauthor of 12 points, all under the circle, denver takes control of the game despite a duo Jimmy Butler – Bam Adebayo aggressive (29-20).
Dominated in terms of address and power, Miami is still resisting. Nikola Jokic on the bench, the Heat goes into the zone and slowly but surely slows down the local attack. On the other side, Florida’s offensive movements make it possible to find easy baskets (39-33).
However, the situation changes drastically as soon as the “Joker” returns to the floor. Pressured by external threats from Denver, Miami chained communication errors and Nikola Jokic chained the caviars (10 at halftime) to Michael Porter Jr. And Jamal Murray. With Jimmy Butler, Max Strus and Caleb Martin without any points in the second quarter, Bam Adebayo cannot prevent the Nuggets 20-9 to end this first half (59-42).
Despite a still successful Bam Adebayo, the zero point of the Martin / Strus duo does not allow the Heat to catch up. On the contrary, Jamal Murray, always diabolically effective, punishes the too permissive defense of Miami. Michael Porter Jr. at half distance and Bruce Brown 3-pointers then invite themselves to their team’s festival of skill and Denver inflicts a 10-0 on the visitors in three minutes: the gap increases to +24 (84-60).
While the game seemed folded, four 3-pointers Kyle Lowry And Gabe Vincent initiates a 14-0 Heat which revives a little suspense (84-74). Erik Spoelstra then opted for a zone defense for most of the last quarter, including with Nikola Jokic present on the floor, and the Nuggets stammered their basketball. A 3-pointerHaywood Highsmith brings Miami to -9 (96-87), but Nikola Jokic closes the lid with 6 straight points to offer this Game 1 to the Nuggets (104-93).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Higher, bigger, stronger. We mentioned it in our preview as one of the keys to the Finals: the Nuggets’ size advantage was going to be a problem for the Heat. Denver still had to apply to take advantage of it, but its start to the match left no room for doubt, because the Nuggets scored 20 of their first 29 points in the racket (at 10/14 in the shoot )! And, this, with a Nikola Jokic systematically serving Aaron Gordon under the circle, defended by Max Strus or Caleb Martin, but also Jamal Murray, defended by Gabe Vincent. Denver’s size also hampered Miami on the other side, as the Heat finished the game 45% in the key, compared to 64% for the locals.
— Bam Adebayo alone in the world. The Heat need an aggressive Bam Adebayo in this series and the pivot responded from the first minutes of play, attacking the circle and looking for his shot from mid-range with efficiency. Unfortunately for Miami, Denver can afford to let it shine if no one else punishes their defense. Caleb Martin and Max Strus started the game at 0/15 from the shoot, Jimmy Butler, aggressive in the first quarter, strangely faded afterwards, while Kyle Lowry, Gabe Vincent and Haywood Highsmith limited the breakage in the last act. Except that Miami will need a Butler in scoring mode, in addition to finding outside address, to keep pace with Denver’s attack.
— Nikola Jokic and the Denver attack are running at full speed. Despite their ten days of rest, the Nuggets showed no signs of rust in this Game 1. With only 12 shots attempted, Nikola Jokic controlled the game and punished the slightest help from Miami with his 14 assists, before transform into a scorer in the last quarter (12 points), in order to repel the final Florida assaults. Erik Spoelstra’s men took three quarters to adapt to the movement of the ball and the Nuggets, but they found a bit of momentum in the last thanks to their zone. The Heat should be more rigorous in Game 2…
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Nikola Jokic. For his first game at the Finals stadium, Nikola Jokic made Nikola Jokic, finishing with his 9th triple double of the playoffs: 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds. He dissected the Miami defense with his vision of the game in the first half, before providing scoring in the final minutes. Very clean, the “Joker” only lost 2 balls and shot 8/12 (as well as 10/12 on throws).
✅ Jamal Murray. The Canadian leader was formidable efficiency for three quarters, scoring 24 of his 26 points at 10/17 to shoot. He also added 10 assists and 6 rebounds to his stat line, although he lost his momentum in the final act to good work from Haywood Highsmith and Miami’s zone defense.
✅ Aaron Gordon & Michael Porter Jr.. Aaron Gordon set the tone in the first quarter, scoring 12 of his 16 points, before Michael Porter Jr. took over afterwards, compiling 14 points and 12 rebounds, while being very active in defense .
✅ Bam Adebayo. The Heat pivot held his team at arm’s length throughout the game, amassing 26 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists (in 25 shots attempted)!
✅ Gabe Vincent & Haywood Highsmith. The starting point guard and backup winger for the Heat single-handedly reversed Miami’s long-range address, finishing 7/14 from wide for 19 and 18 points, respectively.
⛔ Jimmy Butler. He scored 7 points in the first quarter, before disappearing from circulation, scoring just 6 points in the next three quarters. He systematically looked for the pass rather than the shot and we can (should) expect a completely different approach from him in Game 2.
⛔ Max Strus & Caleb Martin. The two Miami starters finished respectively at 1/7 and 0/10 in shooting, despite a string of open shots. They will absolutely have to find a minimum of address for the Heat to return to Florida tied.
THE FOLLOWING
Game 2 in Denver overnight from Sunday to Monday (2:30 a.m.).
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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.
