Nuggets beat Heat to take 1-0 series lead

DENVER — The biggest concern for the Miami Heat against the Denver Nuggets played out over four quarters in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Denver’s explosive offense, loaded with size, versatility, options, quickness and talented scorers, proved too much for the Heat. The Nuggets toppled Miami 104-93 Thursday for a 1-0 series lead, and the winner of Game 1 in the Finals has won the championship 69.7% of the time.

Game 2 is Sunday in Denver (8 p.m. ET, ABC).

It was a great start for the Nuggets, who received an efficient scoring effort from two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and his presence as a facilitator opened up opportunities for his teammates.

Jokic recorded his ninth playoff triple-double this season with 27 points on 12 shots, 14 assists and 10 rebounds. He now has 15 playoff triple-doubles, third most all-time behind Magic Johnson (30) and LeBron James (28).

Denver’s Jamal Murray had 26 points, Aaron Gordon had 16 points (12 in the first quarter) and Michael Porter Jr. added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Denver had ample space driving to the rim and shooting from distance and made 51.3% of its shots.

Miami won Game 1 on the road in its three previous playoff series this season but wasn’t able to pull that off against Denver, which improved to 9-0 at home in the postseason.

“I reminded our group, if they didn’t know that Miami went into Milwaukee and won Game 1. 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,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

The Heat trailed 84-60 with 40.6 seconds left in the third quarter and cut the deficit to 96-87 with 2:34 left in the fourth. But Denver had enough distance to secure the victory.

“Our disposition, the multiple efforts, the resolve in the second half was much better,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But you get to this level, it has to be complete games of that kind of disposition. Even if you have that, you are not always going to win all the possessions that you want.”

Dynamic duo:Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are potent one-two punch. Miami must stop one of them to win

Silver lining?:Bam Adebayo had record night in Miami Heat’s NBA Finals Game 1 fumble to Denver Nuggets

How do Heat get back into NBA Finals?:For Erik Spoelstra it starts with their ‘toughness’

The Heat lacked the same shooting they had against Boston in the Eastern Conference finals. Bam Adebayo scored a team-high 26 points and had 13 rebounds but he didn’t have much help.

Max Strus missed all 10 of his shots, including nine 3s, and Strus and Caleb Martin were a combined 1-for-17 from the field. The Heat shot 43.4% on 3s against the Celtics but just 13-for-39 (33.3%) against Denver.

Jimmy Butler added a bland 13-point, seven-rebound, seven-assist effort for Miami.

“Our game is not built just on the 3-point ball,” Spoelstra said. “We have proven that time and time again. We can win games. We can win series, regardless of how the 3 is going.

“But we also have ignitable guys. You see a couple go through and that also can become an avalanche. One way or the other, we have to find a way to get the job done.”

— Jeff Zillgitt

Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray make history with Game 1 performances

Jokic (27 points, 10 rebounds, 14 assists) and Murray (26 points, six rebounds, 10 assists) made some history in Game 1 with their box scores.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, they became just the second pair of teammates to have at least 25 points and 10 assists in an NBA Finals game, joining Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and James Worthy, who did it for the Lakers in 1987. Jokic and Murray are also just the third and fourth players to post 25-5-10 lines in their NBA Finals debut, joining Michael Jordan and Russell Westbrook, according to the NBA.

Jokic became just the second player, behind Jordan, to finish with outright game-highs in points and assists in his Finals debut, per the Elias Sports Bureau. (His Airness actually lost that game in 1991, to the Lakers.) Jokic also became just the second player, behind Jason Kidd, to finish with a triple-double in his Finals debut, per the league.

Heat had NBA Finals record-low 2 free throw attempts in Game 1

Miami “made history,” Bam Adebayo said, but not in a good way. The Heat only had two free throw attempts in their Game 1 loss to the Nuggets, setting a record for the fewest free throw attempts for a team in the NBA Finals.

None of the Heat starting five made it to the free throw line. Haywood Highsmith made two free throws off the bench. The Denver Nuggets, in comparison, had 20 free throw attempts.

“When we got in the locker room and seen the stat sheet, I feel like we were all shocked that we only had two free throws,” said Adebayo, who finished with a team-high 26 points. When reporters asked him about the free throw disparity again, Adebayo quipped: “If I do say something, will you take the fine?”

Jimmy Butler said the Heat settled on jump shots instead of “putting pressure on the rim, getting layups and getting to the free throw line.” Coach Erik Spoelstra agreed: “We are an aggressive, attacking team, and so if we are not getting those kind of opportunities at the rim or at the free throw line, we have to find different ways to be able to do it.”

Before Miami, the Los Angeles Lakers recorded a record-low five free throw attempts against the Philadelphia 76ers on May 26, 1983.

Heat go on 11-0 run to cut Denver’s lead to 10, but Nuggets respond

Miami isn’t done yet. The Heat opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run to close the Nuggets’ lead to 10. Kyle Lowry knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead to 84-74. Lowry has 11 points off the bench.

Jeff Green ended the run and scored the Nuggets’ first points of the fourth quarter with 9:02 remaining. Then the Nuggets quickly extended their lead back to 16 (90-74), thanks to two made free throws from Jokic and a layup.

Jokic is one rebound away from a triple double – 19 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds.

Q3: Nuggets 84, Heat 63

DENVER — The Miami Heat went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter and closed the gap to 10. Four of those points were from Bam Adebayo.

A layup and-one from Denver’s Jamal Murray halted their momentum and the Heat couldn’t recover.

Even a dunk from Jimmy Butler midway through the quarter couldn’t give the Heat hope.

Aaron Gordon exemplified the Nuggets’ stalwart defense by swatting Max Strus’ attempt at a long jumper. The play got the crowd back into the game after a lull.

Three-point buckets from Nikola Jokic and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope continued Denver’s dominance and a trey from Bruce Brown was a dagger that gave the Nuggets a 19-point lead and caused Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to call a timeout.

Denver continued to extend the gap ended the third quarter up 84-63.

Murray and Adebayo lead each of their teams with 24 points.

— Victoria Hernandez

Caleb Martin, Max Strus remain scoreless in Game 1

Caleb Martin was the unlikely hero of the Heat’s Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, but he’s pulled a disappearing act so far in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Martin has struggled to get on the board, shooting 0-for-6 and 0-for-1 from three nearly halfway through the third quarter. He’s not the only Heat starter struggling. Max Strus is 0-for-9, including 0-for-8 from three.

Bam Adebayo leads the Heat with 22 points and eight rebounds, but has three fouls. Meanwhile, four of five starters for the Nuggets are in double figures, lead by Jamal Murray’s 24 points

Miami trails Denver 71-55 with 6:12 remaining in the third.

Halftime: Nuggets 59, Heat 42

DENVER — The Nuggets turned their nine-point lead after the first quarter into a 17-point margin in the second quarter.

The Nuggets had too much space to operate offensively in the first half, creating several easy opportunities. The Nuggets outscored the Heat 32-18 in points in the paint and shot 59.5% from the field and 45.5% on 3-pointers. And they did it with Nikola Jokic taking just three shots in the half. However, he had 10 points, 10 assists and three rebounds, threatening to record another playoff triple-double.

Jamal Murray scored 18 points, Aaron Gordon had 14 (12 in the first quarter) and Michael Porter Jr. had 10 points and seven rebounds for Denver.

Bam Adebayo scored 16 points for Miami, which shot just 37.5% from the field and 23.5 % on 3-pointers (4-for-17) in the opening two quarters — after torching Boston from 3 in the Eastern Conference finals.

— Jeff Zillgitt

Denver fired up as Nuggets play first NBA Finals game in franchise history

DENVER — The atmosphere at Ball Arena was electric Thursday night as the venue was glittering gold with a packed house.

Fans were given goldenrod T-shirts and glowing wristbands that changed colors between blue and yellow to help create excitement.

They cheered loudly from the time Rocky the mascot descended from the ceiling prior to tipoff. They kept up the high energy as Jamal Murray’s dunk in the first quarter gave the Nuggets an eight-point lead.

The boos abounded as Denver’s Christian Braun was called for a shooting foul on Miami’s Haywood Highsmith shortly after the start of the second quarter.

When former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was shown on the Jumbotron, he was given an enthusiastic ovation. Current Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson and actor Ken Jeong were among other celebrities in attendance.

— Victoria Hernandez

Michael Porter Jr. takes elbow to the face

Michael Porter Jr. took a shot to the face from Bam Adebayo. Both Porter and Adebayo were under the basket when Porter was struck in the face by Adebayo’s elbow. He fell to the floor and missed a possession on the other end before the Nuggets called a timeout with 7:18 remaining in the first half. A foul was not called.

Porter got looked at by trainers on the bench before he reentered the game following the timeout. He has 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks so far. The Nuggets lead 48-37.

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