In courtesy of a furious fourth quarter rally, the Miami Heat staged a major 111-108 Game 2 victory to tie the 2023 NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday evening.
Down by eight, the Heat were suddenly steaming in the final frame, blazing for a 36-point period to seal the intense match in a marvelous fashion and hand the Nuggets their first home loss in this year’s playoffs.
Gabe Vincent led all Heat scorers with his 23 markers. Both Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler had 21 points each, while Max Strus poured 14 with his four treys.
Duncan Robinson was instrumental off the bench all of his 10 points were massive to pull the Heat up against the Nuggets to start the fourth quarter.
Denver led by as many as 15 in Game 2, but they blew it as the highly competitive Heat managed to post a 12-point margin with 3:39 left in courtesy of Caleb Martin’s three.
At the 1:09 mark, Jamal Murray’s treys propelled the Nuggets to pull their urgency trigger and carved an 11-2 run to make it closer for a three-point game, 109-106. But Adebayo’s two foul shots and their clutch defensive stop in the final play ultimately allowed the Heat to come out victorious this weekend.
Nikola Jokic boasted a high-scoring night of a game-high 41 points and 11 boards on a losing effort. Murray had 18, but wasn’t able to complete the Nuggets’ comeback efforts down the stretch after missing a three-pointer that could have sent the game to a five-minute extension.
In contrast to Game 1, Miami was able to take plenty more free throws in Game 2, tallying 18-of-20 foul shots. Their efficient three-point shooting (17-of-35) was also a crucial key to help them carry the series momentum heading back home.
The 2023 NBA Finals now shifts to South Beach as Game 3 is scheduled on Wednesday.
