As they announced at the end of Game 1, Miami begins Game 2 with increased intensity and aggressiveness on both sides of the field. With Kevin Love starting in place of Caleb Martin, the Heat are bigger and more in place defensively. On the other side, it’s Max Strus who redeems himself from his 0/9 at 3-points in Game 1 by starting with a 3 of 3 from afar to put Miami at +11 (21-10). It is the boss, Nikola Jokic, who comes to stabilize Denver. He scores 11 of his team’s 23 points to keep the Nuggets in ambush (26-23).
Denver confirms its revival by starting the second quarter on a 21-6 in four minutes thanks in particular to the defensive impact of Christian Braun, present on all the passing lines! Denver suffocates Miami and triggers an avalanche on the other side, led by 8 points from Jamal Murray and three 3-pointers in a row from Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, and Aaron Gordon (44-32)! The gap reached 15 units before Gabe Vincent, excellent last night, took matters into his own hands to allow the Heat to finish the half on a 16-7 (57-51).
Miami returns to the field with the same intentions. Jimmy Butler continues to go further in his drives to force the defense to help before getting the ball out for his shooters. Gabe Vincent and Kevin Love are 3 out of 3 from a distance to put the two teams back to back (64-64). The two teams then remain silent for more than three minutes, before Nikola Jokic takes the match on his own. The Serbian giant scored 13 of his team’s last 17 points in the third quarter, torturing poor Cody Zeller and the small Heat guys, to put Denver at +8 (83-75).
The Heat pull out a 1-3-1 zone
Miami took advantage of the Joker’s exit to regain control of the game behind the return of their zone defense, this time at 1-3-1, and 10 points from Duncan Robinson. Despite the rapid return of Jokic, Miami takes the lead behind a 15-2 in three minutes (90-85)! The pivot of Denver responds again and again but he is too lonely. Opposite, six straight points from Jimmy Butler, then three free throws from Kyle Lowry, a 2+1 from Bam Adebayo, and another 3-pointer from Caleb Martin take the air off the Ball Arena (107-95) !
Undefeated at home in these playoffs, Denver does not abdicate. Three winning shots in a row from Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray bring it down to -3 with a minute to play (109-106). Bam Adebayo does not shake on the free throw line, but a stop gives the equalizing ball to Jamal Murray. With 12 seconds on the clock, Malone didn’t take a timeout to let Murray attack. His 3-point step back over Butler is too long. Miami equalizes!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Miami’s adjustments to start the game. Erik Spoelstra had chosen to insert Kevin Love in the starting five, after not having played him in Game 1, instead of Caleb Martin. This choice made it possible to shift Jimmy Butler on Jamal Murray, and with the defense of Miami to begin with much more aggressiveness than at the time of the first game. Like a comeback from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope provoked by Gabe Vincent, Miami took the role of the aggressor to slow down Denver’s attack. Opposite, the Heat applied to create more space to generate open shots. Strus was the beneficiary, going 4/7 from a distance in the first quarter, well served by a more aggressive and patient Jimmy Butler.
— Denver’s defense response. With Jimmy Butler on the bench to start the second quarter, Denver switched to all screens and upped their intensity. After having a great first quarter, the Heat found themselves on their heels. They multiplied the forced shots, Denver intercepted four balls, and was able to leave in transition (13 points in the quarter). They found their groove to go 21-6 in Miami and completely turned the tide. The Nuggets also shut down access to the circle, limiting Miami to 8/20 in the key.
— The 32-12 that changed everything. While Nikola Jokic had dominated the end of the third quarter time to put Denver at +8, the Nuggets completely collapsed during the first eight minutes of the last period. The Heat went back to their zone, this time going 1-3-1 after going 2-3 in most of the playoffs, and the Nuggets never found the solution. They lost 4 balls in his eight minutes which gave Miami 10 points. Duncan Robinson in particular made Denver pay before the entire Heat collective took over behind the two-man game between Butler and Adebayo to pass a fatal 32-12 to the Nuggets.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jimmy Butler – Bam Adebayo. The two stars of Miami answered present this night. After a Game 1 inside, Jimmy Butler finished with 21 points, including 8 in the last quarter, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds alternating between scoring and distributing the game. Bam Adebayo continued his momentum from the first game. He also scored 21 points (8/14 on shots), took 9 rebounds, and delivered 4 assists, while being the only Heat player to be able to withstand the shock against Nikola Jokic.
✅ Gabe Vincent. The Heat metronome tonight. He finished Miami’s top scorer with 23 points, 8/12 on shots, including 4/6 from three-pointers. It was he who put the Floridians back in the game at the end of the second quarter and the start of the third.
✅ Nikola Jokic. Alone against all during the majority of the meeting, the pivot tried everything. He scored 41 points, including 18 in the third quarter to make a big but not enough gap. He took 11 rebounds and made only 4 assists due to the clumsiness of his teammates.
✅ ⛔ Duncan Robinson – Kyle Lowry. Next to the plate for three quarters, the two players woke up at the best time. Robinson scored all of his 10 points in the final quarter, as Lowry added 3 points while being instrumental in Miami’s zone defense.
✅ ⛔ Jamal Murray. 0 points in the first quarter and 2 in the third. 8 in the second quarter and 8 in the last period. 18 points and 10 assists for Murray who alternated between hot and cold. He was the one who gave Denver a chance late in the game, but he will need to be more consistent in Miami.
⛔ Michael Porter Jr – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The two wingers were clumsy (3/12 on shots) and suffered defensively.
THE FOLLOWING
Game 3 in Miami overnight from Wednesday to Thursday (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.
