The Denver Nuggets outlasted the Miami Heat 94-89 in an ugly, frantic Game Five to clinch their first NBA title.
Nikola Jokic – who became the first player in history to lead the league in points (600), rebounds (269) and assists (190) in a single postseason – bailed out his teammates with 28 points and 16 rebounds on a night when nothing else seemed to work.
The Serbian international won the Bill Russell trophy as the NBA Finals MVP – an award that certainly has more meaning to him than the two overall MVPs he won in 2021 and ’22.
“We are not in it for ourselves, we are in it for the guy next to us,” Jokic said. “And that’s why this (means) even more.”
Denver’s clincher was a gruesome grind.
Unable to shake the tenacious Heat or the closing-night jitters, the Nuggets missed 20 of their first 22 three-pointers and seven of their first 13 free throws.
They led by seven late, before Miami’s Jimmy Butler went off, scoring eight straight points to give the Heat a one-point lead with 2:45 left.
Butler, who finished with 21, made two more free throws with 1:58 remaining to help Miami regain a one-point lead. Then, Bruce Brown got an offensive rebound and tip-in to give the Nuggets the lead for good.
Trailing by three with 15 seconds left, Butler jacked up a three, but missed it. Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made two free throws each to put the game out of reach and clinch the title for Denver.
Ugly as it was, the aftermath was something the Nuggets and their fans could all agree was beautiful. There were fireworks exploding outside Ball Arena at the final buzzer. Denver is the home of the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time in the franchise’s 47 years in the league.
“It was ugly and we couldn’t make shots, but at the end, we figured it out,” Jokic said. “I am just happy we won the game” (Sky)