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Job done, says Jokic, as Nuggets beat Heat to win first NBA title
from Kaieteur News
by GxMedia
(Reuters) - The Denver Nuggets beattheMiamiHeat 94-89 on Monday to bring a first NBA title to Mile High City, with Serbian big man Nikola Jokic scoring 28 points and being named the Most Valuable Player of the Finals.
With a raucous capacity crowd packed into Ball Arena ready to celebrate, the Nuggets ended a 47-year championship wait by taking thebest-of-sevenseries4-1.
Once again the Nuggets wereledbyJokic,whohitfor a double-double of 28 points and 16 rebounds to cap a dominating postseason performance.
"The job is done, we can go home now," said Jokic, whose trophy case also reboundstotheDenvercause while Canadian Jamal Murray chipped in with 14 points.
Jimmy Butler led Miami with21points.
The eighth-seeded Heat had defied the odds throughout the postseason, taking out the Milwaukee Bucks,NewYorkKnicksand Boston Celtics, but the challenge facing them on Monday was a near impossibleone.
Of the 36 teams that have fallen behind 3-1 in an NBA Finals only one, the 2016
Two.
It was all hands on deck for the Heat with guard Tyler Herro, who had been out of action for nearly two months with a broken right hand, made available for the game butnevergotonthefloor.
Miami started smartly, jumpingahead5-0beforethe Nuggetsshiftedintogearand wentona12-0run,whipping thecrowdintofrenzy includes two NBA MVP Awards. "It was an amazing effortbytheteam.
But after a timeout the refocused Heat went on a 112 run of their own to retake leadasawildopeningquarter endedwithMiamiup24-22.
"Thatiswhybasketballis a fun sport, it is a live thing, you cannot say this going to happen, there are so many factors.
"I'm just happy we won thegame."
Michael Porter Jr contributed 16 points and 13
Cleveland Cavaliers, came back to claim the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy
Making the task even more daunting, Ball Arena has been a virtual fortress for theNuggets, who were9-1 at home during the postseason comingintoGameFive.
That one loss, however, coming to Miami in Game
In the second quarter turnovers and poor shooting continued to plague the Nuggets as they went a woeful 1-15 from beyond the arc while the resilient Heat held steady in the BallArena pressure cooker, taking a 5144advantageintothebreak.
The Nuggets came out with urgency in a bruising third quarter that finished with the Heat clinging to a 71-70lead.
Hoping to send the series back to Miami for Game Six, Butler tried to come to the rescue late in the fourth scoring eight consecutive points, two free throws putting the Heat ahead 89-88 with just under two minutes remaining.
But the Nuggets would notbedenied,aBruceBrown lay-upgivingDenvera90-89 leadtheywouldneverletgo.
Standing on the podium c e l e b r a t i n g a f i r s t championship, Nuggets coach Michael Malone took the opportunity to fire up supporters even more, telling them more titles were on the way.
