Nuggets beat Heat to take 1-0 series lead
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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).
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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.
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.
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.