The series is over!
After dominating this whole series, having clearly the best two players on the court and having their superstar set numerous NBA Finals records, the Denver Nuggets wrapped up the NBA title with a gritty performance last night to win the game 94-89 and the series 4-1.
In terms of scoring, the Nuggets had one of their slowest most nervy nights of the whole playoffs. At the half they only had 44 points and were behind by 7. Going into the series I expected Denver to be averaging 125 a game, and although they have not been quite that good, this game was uncharacteristically low scoring. It’s to be expected with the nerves of a game 5 that come with the opportunity to win the first NBA title in franchise history. Fortunately, for all their issues scoring the ball, the Heat also had a bad night…although theirs was aligned with how they’d played all series. Miami shot 34% from the field, that is awful. Denver didn’t light the world on fire averaging 45%, but thanks to a poor shooting Heat team, they managed to get the win.
Joker had a slow start but finished with the stat-line 28-16-4, which is considered an average night for him. That speaks to the brilliance he has displayed throughout this post-season. He actually ends the playoffs leading in points, rebounds and assists which is the first time that’s ever happened by the same player. He was celebrated for this along with all of his other achievements by being awarded the Finals MVP trophy. It really could not have gone to anyone else. Murray had a great post-season, but this series wasn’t nearly as instrumental in winning as Joker was. He fully deserved it and has now secured his place among the great big men to play this game.
It was Denver’s night so I don’t want to dwell too long on the Miami performance. They came into the playoffs as an eighth seed and were slated to lose each round. The fact they managed to even take a game in the NBA Finals is a fantastic achievement, and after a couple of weeks of digesting the result, Heat fans along with talking heads in the media will acknowledge that.
The Nuggets are expected to be set up to be very highly favoured going into next season. For now, they can enjoy this win and get ready to be awarded an audacious piece of jewellery for their giant hands.
Congratulations to Denver. Bring on next season.