MADRID, 13 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Denver Nuggets are the new NBA champions after winning (94-89) this Monday in the fifth game of the Finals against the Miami Heat to add the final 4-1 and thus achieve the first ring in its history, thanks to a new stellar performance of the Serbian Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets center finished with a ‘double-double’ of 28 points and 16 rebounds, to finish the Finals with an average of 30.2 points, 14.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists, which has served him to unanimously win the Player award Most Valuable Player (MVP).
After the two games in Miami in which the Nuggets were far superior, the series returned to its pavilion with the ‘match ball’ for Mike Malone’s men. The match began very tense, with the locals struggling to score and a visiting team that once again suffered from misses from the triple.
The Heat took the lead at the end of the first quarter and in the second they even reached a ten-point lead, especially since Jokic was very much alone in the local attack, since neither Jamal Murray (14 points) nor Michael Porter Jr (16 points). ) had their day, but the Colorados held on, leaving at halftime close on the score (44-51).
In the second half, the already weak attack by those from Florida, who in these Finals have suffered a lot from the battles they experienced in previous rounds, collapsed. Neither Jimmy Butler, who scored 21 points after a very unfortunate game, although 13 of them in the last quarter, nor Bam Adebayo (20) could do anything to keep his team with options, despite finishing the third set ahead (70 -71).
In the last twelve minutes, when Denver realized that it could be champion, it began to struggle to put points on the scoreboard and a rush from Miami tightened the game. Then, the unstoppable version of Jokic returned, with 10 points, to close the game (94-89) and the series for his team, getting the first ring in franchise history.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: DENVER NUGGETS, 94 – MIAMI HEAT, 89 (44-51, at halftime).
–EQUIPMENT.
DENVER NUGGETS: Caldwell-Pope (11), Murray (14), Porter Jr (16), Gordon (4) y Jokic (28) –quinteto inicial–; Brown (10), Green (4), Braun (7), Jordan (-).
MIAMI HEAT: Vincent (6), Strus (-), Butler (21), Love (3) y Adebayo (20) –quinteto inicial–; Lowry (12), Highsmith (-), Robinson (5)Zeller (-), Martin (10).
–PARTIALS: 22-24, 22-27, 26-20 and 24-18.
–REFEREES: Marc Davis, David Guthrie and Joah Tiven.
–PAVILION: Ball Arena (Denver).