Miami opens Finals off, and Nikola Jokic reminds us of just how thoroughly he resurrected the Denver franchise
The trio of Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, and Max Strus, who combined for 50 3-pointers in the Boston series, made two in Game 1 on 16 attempts. Martin, who received four of the nine Eastern Conference Finals MVP votes, finished with 3 points.
The Nuggets countered Miami’s defense by attacking the paint, making midrange shots, and being selective with their 3-point attempts. Denver made 32 of 52 2-point attempts.
The primary difference in this series for Miami is the presence of two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Jokic finished with a triple-double — 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists — as he either scored in the paint or sprayed the ball to open teammates for quality shots. The Nuggets avoided silly turnovers, pushed the pace to prevent the Heat from getting into their set defense, and then hit 3-pointers or free-throw jumpers against the zone defense.
“I reminded our group, if they didn’t know that Miami went into Milwaukee and won Game 1,” Malone said. “They went into the Garden in New York City and won Game 1. They won Game 1 up in Boston. So, we did not want them coming in here, taking control of the series on our court.”
Of course, the Heat endured a grueling seven-game series and had to hop on a plane Tuesday to mile-high Denver. The Nuggets entered Game 1 with nine days off after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers. They looked like the more energetic team from the beginning, and led for the final 44 minutes and 56 seconds.
They made sure to exploit their matchup advantages. The Nuggets are perhaps the deepest team in the NBA, and they capitalized on Miami’s emphasis on Jokic and Jamal Murray by pounding the ball into the hulking Aaron Gordon, who punished undersized Gabe Vincent or Strus in the paint for layups.
Gordon or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, a staunch defender, also provided major resistance to Jimmy Butler in the post. Butler, who manhandled Celtics defenders at certain points of the East finals, finished with 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting and zero free throw attempts. With Jokic lurking in the paint, Butler found himself dribbling under the basket, chased by defenders and trying to find open teammates.
At times he found them, as he did against the Celtics. The difference was Miami missed those open shots Thursday. The Nuggets were the more physical team. They wanted to make a statement. They matched Miami’s tenaciousness with tenaciousness of their own, and the Heat were the ones caught off guard.
“I definitely think they came out with a lot of physicality, and we have to be able to match that,” Butler said. “They did their job on their home floor, you have to say that, but we will be ready. . . . We will adjust, and we will do some things very differently and come out here and be ready to give more for Game 2.”
The atmosphere in Denver was surreal. It’s the Nuggets first time in the NBA Finals, and their first finals appearance since 1976, when they lost to Julius Erving and the New York Nets in the ABA championship. The sold-out crowd went into a frenzy before the opening tip. For decades, the Nuggets have been trying to build a championship team — from David Thompson to Alex English, to Dikembe Mutombo to Carmelo Anthony.
But the discovery of Jokic, perhaps the greatest second-round pick in league history, resurrected this franchise. The drafting of Murray and Michael Porter Jr., and the acquisitions of Gordon, Dorchester native Bruce Brown, and Caldwell-Pope have turned the Nuggets into the league’s most versatile team.
Jokic is the orchestrator. He collected nearly half of the Nuggets’ assists, then scored 12 points in the fourth quarter when the Heat made a late run.
Enthusiasm is not Jokic’s best characteristic. He plays with no ego. He always makes the right play. And despite winning two MVPs and coming close to a third, Jokic’s humility is never wavering. When public address announcer Kyle Speller calls out the Nuggets starting lineup, Jokic is introduced first, not last.
The rest of the team has adopted his selfless style. It has resulted in a 13-3 playoff record and being three wins from an NBA title.
“That’s how I learned to play basketball, and I think it’s really nice to play,” the native Serb said. “It’s really hard to guard when you don’t know who’s going to attack and how to defend when everybody is moving, everybody is doing something. I think it’s a really nice brand of basketball that we have, and everybody buys in.
“I’m not sure that I did that for us or whatever, but I think everybody contributed and everybody accepted it.”
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.
