NBA Finals: Heat loose as Nuggets face adversity ahead of Game 3
By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer
MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra has preached about the value of adversity for months, not shying away from saying that it helped the Miami Heat get to these NBA Finals.
And now Denver is dealing with a little taste of it as well.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday night in Miami, the series between the eighth-seeded Heat and top-seeded Nuggets knotted at a game apiece. It got that way after Miami rallied to win Game 2 in Denver, 111-108, on Sunday night, an outcome that prompted Nuggets coach Michael Malone to openly share frustrations – primarily over a lack of discipline on a lot of possessions.
“We had a really good film session this morning,” Malone said Tuesday. “I gave an opportunity for everybody on our team to speak and talk about what they saw on the film. It was a very honest conversation. Guys owned what they needed to own. We have to learn from Game 2 to use it to our advantage.”
In other words, Denver needs to do what Miami did coming out of Game 1.
The Heat faced significant deficits in both games in Denver – 24 points in Game 1 and 15 points in Game 2. And while there was a comeback try in the opener, getting within nine late, the Heat managed to erase the whole deficit and then some in Game 2.
“You’re in the Finals,” said Spoelstra, seeking his third championship in his sixth Finals as Heat coach. “You’re going to be dealing with great players, great teams. You have to find a way to overcome it and make it difficult and do a lot of things that are tough.”
Wednesday’s winner obviously gets the upper hand with a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, and history will tip in that team’s favor as well. When a Finals is tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner has gone on to eventually claim the title 80% of the time (32 times in 40 past instances). And 2-1 series leaders, regardless of whether they won Game 3 or not, have taken the title 79% of the time (49 times in 62 past instances).
The Heat are in the Finals for the second time in four seasons, but are playing their first Finals game actually at home since 2014 – the 2020 appearance was in the bubble, with no fans in the buildings for most of that experience and only a few family members for the Finals.
“No matter what, they are going to be behind you,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said. “They are going to give you energy. You know, if the other team is on the run, they are going to give you a little boost. If you’re on a run, there’s going to be a crazy boost. The overall energy for your team and your group, it will give you a little bit of a lift – but it won’t win you the game, because you’ve still got to go out there and hoop.”
Hooping at the end of games hasn’t been an issue for Miami in this series. The Heat are outscoring Denver 66-45 in the fourth quarters in this series, shooting 64% to the Nuggets’ 44% in the final period and holding a 33-9 edge in points off 3-pointers.
But the first three quarters have trended big-time toward Denver. The Nuggets have outscored Miami 167-138 in those periods, outshooting the Heat 53% to 39%. Miami has outscored Denver 57-48 on 3-pointers in those quarters, but that’s nothing like the unmanageable margin the Nuggets have dealt with in final quarters.
“Just don’t get them wide-open looks,” said Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who is averaging 34 points, 10.5 rebounds and nine assists in his first two Finals games. “Yes, we know they’re going to score. Yes, we know they have talented players. But we cannot give them open looks, and that was the main key.”
There wasn’t a lot of worry coming from either side on Tuesday, when the teams had to go through the obligatory public workouts as part of the NBA media off-day slate. The Nuggets were loose, smiling a lot. The Heat were doing much of the same.
Moods will change by the end of Wednesday night. One of the teams – either the big pre-Finals favorite Nuggets, or the eighth-seeded, nothing-to-lose Heat – is going to be two wins away from a title.
“When we’re working we still like to have fun and keep it loose,” Heat forward Kevin Love said. “It keeps us loose out there on the court starting the game and throughout 48 minutes. But it’s not without intention and the willingness to do whatever it takes.”
NBA, NHL TAKE OVER SOUTH FLORIDA FOR 4 NIGHTS
Four games, four nights, two titles at stake. South Florida is getting ready for an epic run of championship games.
Wednesday’s NBA Finals game in Miami between the Heat and the Nuggets starts a stretch of four consecutive days of either NBA or NHL title matchup contests in South Florida. The Florida Panthers are home for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, followed by Game 4 of Heat-Nuggets on Friday and Game 4 of Panthers-Golden Knights on Saturday.
There have been three consecutive days of home NBA or NHL title-round series in one building (or market, in this case) on two previous occasions – but never four in a row, until now.
On May 3, 1972, the New York Knicks had a home Finals game at Madison Square Garden, followed by the New York Rangers the next night and the Knicks again on May 5. And on June 4, 2016, the San Jose Sharks had a home Stanley Cup Final game, with the Golden State Warriors playing the next night and the Sharks again on June 6.
The Sharks and Warriors had home buildings about 35 miles apart at that time, almost identical to the distance between the buildings that the Heat and Panthers call home.
There were instances of NBA and NHL title series on back-to-back nights in 1957 (the Celtics and Bruins in Boston), 1974 (also the Celtics and Bruins), 1980 (the 76ers and Flyers in Philadelphia), 1994 (the Rangers and Knicks), 2003 (the Nets and Devils in New Jersey). The Sharks and Warriors also had a back-to-back, a few days after their back-to-back-to-back, in 2016.
Even the Miami Marlins are getting in on the fun. They moved their start time for a Wednesday home game against the Kansas City Royals up 30 minutes, to 6:10 p.m. – or roughly 2½ hours before the start of Heat-Nuggets.
“All eyes are on South Florida sports, and we want our fans to enjoy the fun in rooting on the Marlins followed by the Heat on Wednesday,” Marlins president of business operations Caroline O’Connor said.
If someone wanted to attend all four of those games as a fan, based on prices Tuesday, they could expect to pay at least $2,500 – and that’s for seats in both arenas about as far away from the playing surface as possible.
WELCOME TO THE U
Playing back in Miami is a homecoming of sorts for Denver guard Bruce Brown, who spent two college seasons at the University of Miami under coach Jim Larrañaga.
“I could finally congratulate them for making it to the Final Four in person,” Brown said. “I loved my two years at Miami.”
The Hurricanes were 43-22 in Brown’s two seasons at the school in Coral Gables, a few miles from the arena where the Heat play. This season, Miami made the Final Four for the first time – a story that has been part of a huge year of basketball accomplishments in South Florida.
Florida Atlantic also made the men’s Final Four, Miami made the women’s Elite Eight, Nova Southeastern won the Division II men’s national championship, and teams from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties won eight of a possible 14 boys and girls state high school championships.
Brown got to see his old campus Tuesday; Nuggets veteran Jeff Green has a house in a neighborhood near Coral Gables – “all the way out in Narnia,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray joked – and had the team over for dinner Tuesday night.
“We drove by UM,” Brown said. “It just brought back memories … it’s great to be back.”
HERE AND THERE
• Heat guard Tyler Herro (broken right hand) still isn’t cleared to play and has been ruled out for Game 3. He was going through another contact workout Tuesday. Herro has been out since breaking his hand in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Milwaukee Bucks.
• Denver is 9-0 when giving up 109 points or fewer this postseason. The Nuggets are 4-4 when allowing more than 109.
• Jokic has scored at least 40 points four times in his playoff career. The Nuggets are 0-4 in those games, 0-3 this season.
• Bam Adebayo’s 47 points in his past two games tie for the second most he’s ever had in a two-game postseason span. He had 48 points (21, then 27) in Games 2 and 3 against Boston in the 2020 Eastern Conference finals.
• Spoelstra (109) is two victories from tying Doc Rivers (111) for No. 4 on the NBA’s all-time postseason win list. The only coaches ahead of them: Phil Jackson (229), Pat Riley (171) and Gregg Popovich (170).