Nuggets Take Heat And NBA Title

     The Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Finals at Ball Arena on Monday night. The Nuggets won their first NBA championship in franchise history as they took the best-of-seven series 4-1. 

     The Heat lost in the NBA Finals for the second time in the last four seasons. Miami now has a 3-4 record in the NBA Finals.

     Miami began the game scoring the first five points, but Denver came back with 12 unanswered points for a 12-5 advantage with 5:57 to go in the first. The Heat had a slight lead 24-22 at the end of the first quarter. Miami had a 13-7 spurt to start the second quarter and led 51-44 at halftime.

     Denver got a 16-9 spurt at the beginning of the second half and tied it 60-60 with 6:44 remaining in the third quarter. Kyle Lowry put in a three-point shot in the final seconds of the third and the Heat were ahead 71-70 heading into the final frame. The Nuggets got the momentum with the first five points of the fourth quarter. Miami went on a 8-0 run to lead 87-86 with 2:47 left in the fourth. Denver outscored the Heat 8-2 in the closing minutes of the contest. 

     Bam Adebayo led the Heat with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Jimmy Butler added 21 points in the loss. Max Strus and Lowry dropped in 12 points each while Caleb Martin had 10 points. 

     Nikola Jokic, who had a triple-double by the end of the third quarter, finished with 28 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists for the Nuggets. Michael Porter Jr. contributed 16 points along with 13 rebounds and Jamal Murray drained in 14 points.