Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets to the first NBA title in NBA history on Monday, and Denver overcame an atrocious offensive night and a late barrage of points from Jimmy Butler to beat the Heat 94-89 in Game 5.
Jokic had 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, who missed 20 of their first 22 3-point attempts and seven of their first 13 free throws, but found a way to close out the series at home.
Butler finished with 21 points for the Heat, including eight straight in the fourth quarter as the Heat regained the lead momentarily.
I feel “fine. The work is done and we can go home now,” Jokic declared as soon as the game was over.
The Nuggets, who until this year had only reached the Western Conference finals four times (1978, 1985, 2009 and 2020), reached the top of the NBA thanks to a team simmered for almost a decade and led by for the unique talent of Jokic and the fabulous duo he forms with Jamal Murray (14 points).
“You are the best fans,” coach Michael Malone thanked the 19,000 fans at the Ball Arena. “But I have news for you, we are not satisfied with this. We want more, we want more.”
The Heat, who aspired to the fourth ring in their history, had practically lost all their chances of victory with their two defeats last week in Miami, but this Monday they returned to the track determined to fight and arrived with the game tied at the last minutes.
Several throwing errors by Butler and a steal by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ended Miami’s hopes.