(Denver) Gabe Vincent scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each scored 21 and the Miami Heat tied in the NBA Finals by overcoming a monster effort from Nikola Jokic to beat the Denver Nuggets 111-108 in Game 2 on Sunday night.
“Our guys are competitors,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. They love these kinds of moments. »
Max Strus scored 14 points and Duncan Robinson added 10 for the Heat, who had a big early lead, then fell as much as 15 points before reclaiming the lead in the fourth quarter. The Heat beat the Nuggets 36-25 in the final period, erasing an eight-point deficit heading into the final quarter.
“Let’s talk about effort,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. I mean, it’s the NBA Finals and we’re talking effort. This is a huge concern for me. You probably thought I was just making a fuss after Game 1 when I said we didn’t play well. We didn’t play well. … This is not the pre-season. It’s not the regular season. It’s the NBA Finals. »
Jokic scored 41 points, Murray added 18 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, while Aaron Gordon finished with 12 points, and Bruce Brown with 11 points.
“They just played hard, and like I said, it was more disciplined,” Murray said. It’s a loss when you make mistake after mistake, and they’re not the ones beating you, they’re given open dunks or open shots. It’s hard to come back from that. »
Game 3 takes place on Wednesday in Miami. The Nuggets were 11-0 so far in the playoffs.