NBA Finals: Game 5 Setting Up As Mile High Coronation
Denver Nuggets return home with a chance to close out the series as the Heat grasp for answers
Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat may go down as the game where Denver made it certain that it was the better team in this series.
In building a 3-1 lead, the Nuggets relied not on its regular dominance from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Instead, their the role players were the ones who stepped up, took charge and solidified the game, which has Denver on the verge of its first NBA championship, one that could be clinched this evening in the Mile High City (8:30 ET/7:30 CT, ABC).
But, back to Miami, where the Heat likely lost control of their upset effort to regain control of this series this past Friday — arguably with some zebra help, Miami was able to neutralize Jokic and Murray as best as they have all series. Denver’s Big 2 scored 23 and 15 points respectively, but two new faces emerged as heroes: starting power forward Aaron Gordon and reserve sharpshooter Bruce Brown — these two provided major performances that made the difference in the 108-95 Game 4 victory.
What Can Brown Do For You?
One game after rookie Christian Braun stepped into the spotlight, another shade of Brown took over.
In light of Murray struggling mightily in Game 4, with his 15 points coming on 5-of-17 shooting from the field, Brown remained on fire all night with 21 points on 8-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range.
In the city where he starred as a Miami Hurricane, Brown put together his second-highest scoring game of this postseason, trailing only a masterful 25-point performance in Game 5 of the conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns.
No doubt, Brown is capable of having a big performance when called upon, but he was not alone in his efforts in Game 4 and it was another performance that really drove things forward for Denver.
Aaron Gordon’s Podium Game
Gordon had mostly been quiet this postseason, averaging only 13.7 points per game. Whether he was due for a breakout or not, Gordon took control of things in the all-important Game 4, leading both teams in scoring with 27 points along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
With the press afterwards, Gordon spoke on Denver’s ability to find different guys to step up night after night.
“This team does a good job of finding guys that are in a rhythm,” Gordon said.
It’ll be hard to expect Gordon to have a repeat performance in Game 5, but he could still be an impact player in this potential series clincher.
As a team, the Nuggets dominated the stat sheet in every category but especially in turnovers with only six turnovers compared to Miami’s 15, which led to 17 points for Denver. Additionally, the Nuggets converted 14-of-28 shots from 3-point range.
So, while the Nuggets did many things well, the Heat shown in the series’ first two games that they could still play up to Denver’s best. In Game 4, though, even on their home floor, the Heat looked as flat as they have all postseason. What went wrong for Miami?
(The) Heat is Off
Much like their losses in Games 1 and 3, struggles from 3-point range really nagged the Heat. In Game 4, Miami only went 8-for-25. Obviously, if the Heat want to extend this series past Game 5, then they need to shoot better. Specifically, Miami’s guards need to shoot better, among other things.
The lack of back-court production overall has been particularly mystifying throughout this series for the Heat. Jimmy Butler came back to life with 25 points on top of 7 rebounds and 7 assists, but it wasn’t nearly enough to affect Denver as Gabe Vincent and Max Strus again struggled mightily from the field, combining to go 1-for-10 and scoring only two points.
Credit to the Nuggets defense for their efforts in stopping the Miami backcourt, but no matter how they are guarded, going basically scoreless in a Finals game can’t happen. If a Game 6 is going to happen, Miami’s guards need to be better, it’s as simple as that. If Vincent and Strus aren’t up to the job, then Kyle Lowry and Duncan Robinson have to give some sort of contribution off the bench.
That said, does Miami coach Erik Spoelstra make a change to his starting lineup and insert Lowry or Robinson in this do-or-die game? That’ll definitely be worth observing as we get closer to tip-off tonight.
After Friday’s game, Spoelstra sounded optimistic regarding the dwindling chances that team has at this point.
“We have an incredibly competitive group and we've done everything the hard way,” coach Spo said. “All we’re focused on getting this series back to Miami.”
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