Nikola Jokic scores triple-double, Denver Nuggets easily beat Miami Heat in Game 1 NBA Finals 2023
There have been many questions raised ahead of the 2023 NBA Finals for the Denver Nuggets.
Is 9 days off too long for Nikola Jokic and his teammates? Will they be suffocated and lose their rhythm while the Miami Heat are "hot hands" after a series of 7 games against Boston?
The answer is that there is no problem even though this is the first final series of the club in its 47-year history.
Led by Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets took full advantage to beat the Miami Heat 104-93 in Game 1, taking a 1-0 lead in the 2023 NBA Finals series.
Jamal Murray played sublime with 26 points and added 10 assists. In addition, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr and Bruce Brown all scored over 10 points, creating an extremely balanced attack for the Denver Nuggets against the Miami visitors.
But it is impossible to ignore the leader of the home team, Jokic. He scored 26 points (8-12 FG) with 14 assists and 10 rebounds, pocketing 6 triple-doubles in the last 7 games.
"The statistics sound great, but I don't pay much attention to it and just do everything for the team to win. The final result is what matters to me," Nikola Jokic shared after Game 1.
The Denver Nuggets' dominance was demonstrated in Game 1 by two stats. First, they were only 34 seconds ahead of a total of 48 minutes.
The second is that the score difference at the furthest reaches 24 points in favor of Denver. Coach Michael Malone and his team not only caught up with the match very quickly, but also used a good physical foundation thanks to 9 days of rest to overwhelm the opponent.
Another key factor is being able to play at the Ball Arena home, which is located at 1,600 meters above sea level, and the air is noticeably thinner than most courts in the NBA.
This has had a significant impact on the Miami Heat team, which is showing signs of fatigue and has just been exhausted after a 7-match series against the Boston Celtics.
Bam Adebayo is the most prominent name of the Miami Heat with 26 points (13-25 FG) along with 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Gabe Vincent had 19 points and 5 rebounds, and substitute Haywood Highsmith added 18 points.
Jimmy Butler was relatively lackluster in Game 1, scoring 13 points (6-14 FG) with 7 rebounds and 7 assists. The duo that helped Miami Heat sublimate in the previous series, Caleb Martin and Max Strus, "turned off" completely, only having a total of 1-17 FG the whole match.
Although at times leading by more than 20 points, Heat still showed determination not to give up and tried to create a comeback. They started the fourth half with an 11-0 run and then shortened the gap to 9 points.
But with a relaxed mentality and more physical fitness, it only took the Denver Nuggets about 3 minutes to regain the initiative and bring the gap back to over 15 points.
The Denver Nuggets successfully used their advantage to take a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Now it will be the Miami Heat's turn to respond.
The two sides will rest for 2 days before meeting at Game 2 taking place at 7:00 am on Monday, June 5. The Denver Nuggets will be the home team of this match before the NBA Finals series moves to Miami in Games 3 and 4.
