By Eddie Pells - The Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, won their first-ever NBA ring Monday with a 4-1 victory in the Finals over Jimmy Butler's Miami Heat.
After almost half a century in the league, the Nuggets, who until this year had never played a title series, finally touched the NBA sky on a memorable night in which they beat the Heat 94-89 before an ecstatic crowd at Denver's Ball Arena.
Jokic, who led his team with 28 points and 16 rebounds, was elected MVP of the Finals and culminated an impressive playoff beating with ten the record of triple-doubles and becoming the first player to lead in an NBA playoffs the statistics of points, rebounds and assists (600, 269 rebounds and 190, respectively).
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"We are not here by ourselves individually, we have come this far because of every teammate next to us," Jokic said. "That's why it means a lot," he added.
To achieve, the Denver team had to overcome a complicated start to the game.
The Nuggets missed 20 of their first 22 three-point attempts and seven of their first 13 free throws. They had a seven-point lead near the end before Miami Heat-leading Jimmy Butler exploded with eight straight goals to put Florida up by one with 2:45 left.
He hit two more free throws with 1:58 left to put the Heat back on the lead by one point. But Bruce Brown recovered the offensive rebound and scored for the Nuggets to take the lead for good.
Three down with 15 seconds to go, Butler threw a three-pointer but missed. Brown hit two free throws and the game was decided and sealed the title for Denver.
Butler finished with 21 points.
The denouement was something the Nuggets and their fans will agree was beautiful. Denver treasures the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time in the franchise's 47 years in the league.
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"It was complicated, but in the end we knew how to pull it off," Jokic said. "I'm happy to win the match," he added.
The Miami Heat, as their coach Erik Spoelstra promised, were a battle-hardened team. But his aim was not good. Bam Adebayo had 20 points, but Miami shot just 34 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range. Until Butler lit up, he was going two of 13 for eight points.
Denver Nuggets #15 Nikola Jokic receives the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award after a 94-89 victory against the Miami Heat in game five of the 2023 NBA Finals.Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
The Heat, who survived a play-in loss, insisted they didn't like consolation prizes.
But for the first time in 47 seasons, no one shines brighter in the NBA than the Nuggets.
"The fans in this city are incredible," team owner Stan Kroenke said. "It means a lot to us to get it," he added.
Jokic also highlighted the patience of the Nuggets project led by him on the court, by Mike Malone from the bench and by owner Stan Kroenke from the offices.
"If you want success, you need to be bad and then be good. Then, when you're good, you need to fail. And then when you fail, you're going to fix it," he explained.
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"I think the experience is something not about what happened to you but what you're going to do with what happened to you. There are steps you need to take and there are no shortcuts. It's a journey and I'm happy to be part of that journey," he explained.
Finally, Jokic spoke about the extraordinary moment for the sport in Serbia after his compatriot Novak Djokovic was proclaimed champion of Roland Garros on Sunday and thus achieved his 23rd Grand Slam (record in men's tennis). "I think it's really a great time to be Serbian," he concluded.
With information from EFE.