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Posts tagged as “Heat”

Denver Nuggets are the 2023 NBA Champions, franchise’s first in the 47 years in the league

June 13, 2023

The Denver Nuggets just bagged their first NBA Championship after defeating the Miami Heat in a one of the lowest scoring game in the series (94-89).

In the first half, Miami was poised to take the series back home until Nikola Jokic carried the Nuggets with with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Jokic also took home the Bill Russell trophy as the NBA Finals MVP, which carry more weight than the 2021 and 2022 Regular Season MVP trophies.

Nuggets outlast the Heat in a game that’s more favorable to the style of Miami Heat, a low scoring, physical and close game, no team lead more than 2 points in the last 2 minutes of the game. It was in the closing minutes that made the difference; Bruce Brown got an offensive rebound and tip-in to give the Nuggets, then Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope capitalize on a Heat turnover and made two free throws each that sealed the title for Denver.

This is the first time in the franchise’s 47 years in the league and if they keep the core players, we may see the Nuggets making a deep run in every year, lead by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Denver Nuggets win Game 4 of the NBA Finals and One away to be the NBA Champions

June 10, 2023

Denver Nuggets are just one win away to be the NBA Champions as they defeat the resilient Miami Heat in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

We can call Game 4 as the Aaron Gordon Game, as he lead the Nuggets in scoring with 27 points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Miami was able to limit Jokic to “just” 23 points, made 3 three-point shots, with 4 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds to help build a 13 point lead against the Heat entering the 4th quarter. Jokic got in foul trouble, committing his 5th foul when the Nuggets are up by 5 point and still 8:42 remaining in the game. Even though Jamal Murray was limited to just 15 point, he helped setup his teammates by dishing out 12 assists. Aside from Gordon, Bruce Brown was also a big factor off the bench, scoring 25 points with 4 rebs. Nuggets as a team shot 50% from the three-point line making 14 of their 28 shots.

Miami Heat are once again 1 – 3 in the NBA Finals and even with the odds against the team, Heat Leader Jimmy Butler is still positive that they can go back to Miami to at least have a chance to extend the series to a game 7. “Now we’re in a must-win situation, every single game — which we’re capable of.. It’s not impossible.” ,” Butler said in his postgame interview.

Miami Heat Head coach Erik Spoelstra echoed the same sentiments;

We have an incredibly competitive group. We’ve done everything the hard way and that’s the way it’s going to have to be done right now — again. And all we’re going to focus on is getting this thing back to the 305. Get this thing back to Miami. And things can shift very quickly.

Game 5 will be back Denver, Tuesday evening, where Jokic and Murray with the rest of the team have chance to end the series and celebrate in front of their home crowd.

Miami Heat evens series via late run in the 4th Quarter (111- 108)

June 5, 2023

The Miami Heat evens up the series from a come from behind run against the Denver Nuggets, the team also overcome a 41-point game by Nikola Jokic, who also grabbed 11 rebounds. Miami Heat manage to comeback from a 15-pt deficit in the first half and hang-on to a 3-pts lead in the closing seconds of the game. Miami also made 48% of their 3-points shot and in contrast to game 1, the team shot 18 out of 20 from the free-throw line.

Both Butler and Adebayo scored 21 points apiece while Gabe Vincent lead the Heat in scoring with 23 points, on a 4 of 6 from beyond the three-point line. Miami also got a big lift from Duncan Robinson, who scored all of his 10-points in the 4th, and Max Strus with 14 points. Aside from the free-throw. three points made also made the different in game 2, since Miami 17 of their 35 three points.

Denver on the other hand got a monster 41-points game from Nikola Jokic but only 4 assists, he is also -11 in the plus/minus column. It’s not just Jokic, Kentavious Caldwell Pope (-14), Michael Porter Jr. (-15) and Jamal Murray (-2) are also negative in the plus/minus.

This is the first home game for the Nuggets since March 30, and Nuggets coach Michael Malone blame it on effort when asked about the game in the post game interview;

Games 3 and 4 will be in Miami and where injured Heat guard Tyler Herro is expected to make a return.

Boston Celtics forces Games 7 on White’s buzzer-beater tip-in (104-103)

May 28, 2023

The Boston Celtics are on the verge of making NBA history as they force a “winner-take-all” Game 7 against the Miami Heat after losing the first 3 games of the series.

Miami Heat are just 3 seconds away from their second trip to the NBA finals in 4 years, after Jimmy Butler made all 3 of his free-throw, but Derrick White had other plans instead as he beat the buzzer with a putback to force a Game 7 in the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference finals. Derrick White only scored 11 points on a 4 of 10, where 3 shots are from beyond the arc and his last and only field goal in the paint is the most important one. Jason Tatum once again lead the Boston Celtics, scoring 31 points with 12 rebs and 2 blocks. Jalen Brown has 26 points and Marcus Smart, whose shot is the one that White tipped-in, scored 21 points but -10 in the plus/minus department.

Despite the pressure that the team will face in Boston, Jimmy Butler is still confident that they will close the series in Boston. “We’ve got to go on the road and do something special.. “But we’ve got a special group.” Butler said in his postgame interview. Butler lead the Heat in scoring 24 points with 11 rebs and 8 assists, followed by Calen Martin’s 21 points, with 4 from the three-point line, and 15 rebs. Gabe Vincent, Bam Adebayo and Max Strus were also a big help in the game by scoring 15 pts, 11 pts and 10 points, respectively.

This was a game that Heat should have won, since Boston shot only 20% from beyond the arc, compare to the 46% from Miami. Game 7 will be in Boston, which could be a replay of last year’s East Conference Finals or we would be watching a totally different movie.

Boston Celtics routs Miami Heat to extend series to Game 6 (110 – 97)

May 27, 2023

In another shooting clinic, the Boston Celtics easily dispatch the Miami Heat at home to further extend the series to game 6 and putting more pressure to Jimmy Butler and company to close the series in Miami.

Four Boston players scored more than 20-pts with at least 1 three-points made. Derrick White lead the Celtics with 24-pts, making 6 of 8 three-points shot. Jason Tatum once again made sure that his teammates are in the game by dishing a team-high 11 assists, he also scored 21 pts and 8 rebs. Smart and Brown also chipped-in scoring 23 points and 21 points, respectively. As good as their offense, it was their defense that won the game for Boston. As a team the Boston Celtics made 13 steals, 37 rebounds and 4 blocks with just 9 turnover.

Jimmy Butler in his postgame interview said “We’re always going to stay positive, knowing that we can and we will win the series… We just have to close it out at home.” Butler scored 14 points with 5 rebs and 5 assist but was -24 in the plus/minus column. Miami’s leading scorer is Duncan Robinson with 18 points and 9 assists. Bam Adebayo added 16 points and eight rebounds but -15 in the plus/minus. Caleb Martin finished with 14 points, while Gabe Vincent sat out of the game due to an ankle injury.

Boston Celtics are two wins away in becoming the first NBA team to come back from a 0-3 deficit. Game 6 of Eastern Conference Finals will be at Miami this Saturday evening at the Kaseya Center.

Boston Celtics avoids sweeps as they defeat Miami Heat 116-99

May 24, 2023

The Boston Celtics lead by Jason Tatum to defeat the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

It was a close game in the first 3qtrs but the Celtics blew the game wide-open in the final quarte to gain a 17 points lead which made sure that they will return to Boston for another chance to extend the series.

Six Boston players have scored in double-digits lead by Tatum scoring 34 points making 4 three-points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists; Brown’s 17-points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists and Derrick White with his 16-points, with 3 of 7 from the beyond the three-point line.

As a team the Miami Heat just shot 8 of 32 (25%) from the three-point line and just 18 assists, compare to Celtics’ 28 ast.

Miami’s leading scorer Jimmy Butler said “We’ve got to play like our backs are against the wall. But I think all year long, we’ve been better when we’ve had to do things the hard way.”

The series will now shift back to Boston where the Celtics will have another chance to extend the series.

Heat routs Celtics to take 3 – 0 series lead in the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Finals

May 22, 2023

Miami Heat are one win way to return to the NBA Finals. As team, Miami Heat demolished Boston Celtics with a barage of 3-points by making 19 of 35, a whopping 54.3% from beyond the arc, and 56.8% from the field.

The Heat have 6 players scoring in double-digits lead by Gabe Vincent scoring 29 points, on a 6 of 9 from the three-point line. Jimmy Butler, Miami’s best player, just scored 16 points with 8 rebounds and 6 assists but had a very big impact in the game. Second leading scorer of the game is Duncan Robinson made 5 of 7 three-points, scoring 22 points. Robinson became the leading 3-pointer of the Heat, with 825 three-pointers made in franchise history.

On the Boston side, the team had one of their worst shooting game with just 11 three-pointers made on 42 attempts and they shot 39.8% from the field. Jason Tatum, their leading scorer, only had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and no other player scored more than 12 points. In the postgame interview, Boston Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla admitted that the loss was on him for his failure to prepare the team for their biggest game of the season.

Mazzulla said “I just didn’t have them ready to play.. I have to get them in a better place to be ready to play, and that’s on me.” You can watch the full video of his postgame interview below;

Just like the Lakers, Celtics are in a similar position, down 0 – 3 and if they want to extend the series, Game 4 in Miami is a must win for them this Tuesday evening.

Atlanta Hawks upsets Miami Heat to secure East 7th seed

April 12, 2023

The Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks faced off in a thrilling play-in game on Tuesday night, with a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs on the line. The Hawks, led by their new coach Quin Snyder, who took over the team last February, showed their resilience and determination as they defeated the Miami Heat to secure a 116-105 victory.

The Heat, who were the defending conference champions, struggled to contain the Hawks’ dynamic duo of Trae Young and Clint Capela. Young, who averaged 26.2 points and 10.2 assists per game in the regular season, scored 25 points and dished out 7 assists in the win. Capela, who is top 7 in rebounding with 11.0 per game, dominated the paint with 21 rebounds, two blocks and 4 points.

The Hawks also got contributions from their supporting cast, as Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 14 points, John Collins added 10 points and four rebounds, and Dejounte Murray chipped in with 18 points, 6 assists and five rebounds. The Hawks shot 46% from the field and 24.4% from three-point range, while holding the Heat to 42.9% and 32.4%, respectively.

The Heat were led by Jimmy Butler, who had 21 points, four rebounds and 9 assists. Bam Adebayo contributed with 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Tyler Herro scored 26 points and two steals. The Heat were missing Victor Oladipo, who only played for just 9 mins and made just one assist.

The Hawks will now face the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, starting on Saturday. The Heat will face the loser between the Toronto and Chicago game this Thursday.