It missed open shots.ĭenver’s Game 1 victory lulled it into a false sense of control, and Michael Malone was worried about his team’s defensive effort. Miami, which has been a great 3-point shooting team in the East playoffs, was just 33.3% from that distance in Game 1. The Heat were better than they were in Game 1, and that was enough to win Game 2. “We did that tonight as a group, and we'll continue to do that as a group.” “Just find a way to win,” Heat star Jimmy Butler said. With 3:39 left in the game, it had a 107-95 lead. Miami fell behind 50-35 midway through the second quarter and trailed 83-75 to start the fourth. They started the game well, finished strong and in between, the Heat absorbed Denver’s scoring bursts and countered with their own while playing outstanding defense against one of the NBA’s best offenses. In almost every way − except for Denver having the best all-around player on the court in two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who had a game-high 41 points − the Heat were the stronger team. “We want to be able to have that privilege of having adversity and being able to overcome it,” Spoelstra said. NO TIMEOUT? Why didn't Denver coach Michael Malone set up final shot?īut it also doesn’t stop him from appreciating how it helps his team. “We've talked about it in all the previous three series,” he said, “so I feel like I'm being redundant.” Spoelstra tires of expounding on Heat culture and resiliency. It steeled us and we developed some grit, which is what we all want.” Because of all that adversity and the 57 close games that happened, due to a lot of that, it hardened us. “We handled it the right way where you are not making excuses about it, the injuries, the lineups changes. “We faced a lot of adversity during the season,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. This was a classic Heat victory, outworking, outsmarting and outplaying the opponent. You don’t beat the Heat on talent alone, and the Nuggets should know that. It was the manner in which the Heat played and Nuggets didn’t. It wasn’t the final score, a 111-108 Miami victory for a 1-1 Finals series. The Heat embarrassed the Denver Nuggets in Game 2. DENVER - The Miami Heat are forged in adversity.Īnd discipline.
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