Nuggets outlast Heat 108-95 in Game 4, take 3-1 series lead
Heat have lost four straight at home by a combined 46 points.
The Denver Nuggets outlasted the Miami Heat 108-95 inside Kaseya Center Friday evening, taking a 3-1 series in the 2023 NBA Finals.
The Nuggets have won five straight road games; the Heat, meanwhile, have now lost four straight at home by a combined 46 points.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray both gave the Nuggets solid contributions, but Denver ultimately got way more production from its role players — namely Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown — relative to Miami outside of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Gordon finished with 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals on 11-of-15 shooting, while Brown tallied 21 points on 11 shots in 30 minutes. Jokic tallied 23 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-19 shooting.
In the second half alone, Brown and Gordon combined for 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting.
Murray had 15 points and 12 assists, becoming the first player in NBA Finals history to have 10-plus assists in a four-game Finals stretch.
The Heat, who shot 45.5 percent and 8-of-25 (32.0 percent), couldn’t get a dominant Adebayo or Butler down the stretch. And, more importantly, Miami couldn’t generate enough stops — especially in the non-Jokic minutes in the fourth quarter.
After trailing by 10 with 9:24 left, when Jokic picked up his 5th foul, Miami only finished a plus-one in the subsequent 5:15 stretch without Jokic. The Heat are now a minus-nine in such minutes this series.
Butler led Miami with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists on 9-of-17 shooting; Adebayo had 20 points and 11 rebounds, but posted an anemic eight turnovers.
Nobody else had more than 13 points; Kyle Lowry (13), Duncan Robinson (12), Kevin Love (12) and Caleb Martin (11) were Miami’s only other double-figure scorers.
According to Cleaning the Glass, the Nuggets posted a 118.7 offensive rating (67th percentile) to the Heat’s 104.4 offensive rating (21st percentile); the Nuggets also had an 8.8 turnover rate (92nd percentile) — half of Miami’s 16.5 TOV% (27th percentile) — and an effective field goal percentage gap of eight percentage points (58.2% to 50.0%).
If Miami can’t force enough turnovers, shoot better from deep, win the non-Jokic minutes or, most importantly, generate enough stops when it matters most — their chances are as good as none in a seven-game series, especially against this Nuggets behemoth that’s proven they’re capable of playing discipline two-way basketball for 48 minutes.
Though the Heat still has at least one more bite at the apple. All they need to do is win Game 5, which will be Monday at 8:30 p.m. inside Ball Arena, to survive another day.
But can they do it? Only time will tell.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.
Well, its not what I hoped for, but I m not dissapointed. Denver was a better team in this series till now. It seems like Heat was in the best shape against Bucks, since then they are slowly spiralling down.
Both Butler and Bam are playing well, but not excellent. And if at least four of other 8 players doesnt have really good games, we are in troubles. Dunc, Lowry and Love were really good last night, but we needed another one.
At least one game left. I ll sit and enjoy, and I ll be ok with any result.
I couldn't watch live so I only saw the YouTube replay.
First the positives:
Shoutout to Kyle Lowry for the Tim Hardaway 3-pointer in the first quarter! Banking a 3 from a fast break. Only a long-time Heat fan can appreciate the beauty of that shot.
Duncan seemed to be playing well.
Gabe and Max might play their way back into affordable contracts.
Herro and Oladipo would have helped
Okay, now the reality check:
The role players have played like role players. Nobody has been bad. Even Strus is getting hustle rebonds and defending MPJ. But against the Celtics, Gabe and Caleb played like stars. The fact is, nobody on the Heat is playing like a star except Bam and Butler.
Speaking of Bam and Butler....
Bam and Butler have been playing well, but Jokic and Murray have been absolutely fantastic. Jokic averaging a triple double throughout the playoffs, and someone else is killing us with assists! This reminds me of the Heat with LeBron. At some point, it doesn't matter how good the other team is, the best player is going to find a way to win.
My Prediction:
The Heat have been to the Conference Finals 3 times in the past 4 seasons and The Finals twice. They had the best record in the East last season. They've been the most consistently great team in the NBA since the pandemic.
The Nuggets meanwhile, have made the Conference Finals 3 times this century. This is their first seasons finishing fist in the West, maybe ever. Now they have to plan for winning the Championship on their home floor while also getting ready for Game 5?
Too much pressure for the Nuggets.
Pat Riley's new phrase is that the series doesn't start until someone is on the brink of elimination.
The Heat have the Nuggets right where they want them
Heat win Game-5 in Denver