Denver strike back but underdogs keep lead after first quarter
Jokic barrels his way to the basket to cut the gap to five late in the quarter and Christian Braun drives to the hoop and all of a sudden the Nuggets are win three.
They then had the last possession of the term but Murray misses a long-range stepback three.
Heat lead 26-23 after first quarter
Strus strong as Miami keep momentum going
The Heat have hit 8/15 shots from the field and Strus now has 3/4 from beyond the arc.
Jokic and KCP have hit two of Denver’s three attempts from range but they are just 5/13 overall after a time-out late in the quarter.
Heat up 21-12 with 4:24 left in 1Q
Heat’s hitting outside shots but Nuggets can’t find their groove
KCP lands a corner three after the time-out to stem the flow of Heat buckets but Miami keep hitting outside shots and have Denver backpedalling.
Heat up 19-10 with 5:05 left in 1Q
Heat make hot start to put Nuggets on back foot
Miami score the first seven points before Jokic hits back with a lay-up.
But when Max Strus knocks down his second three-pointer, the Nuggets call an early time-out.
Heat 10-2 with 9:13 left in 1Q
We are underway in the Mile High City
Tip-off at last.
Denver have retained their same starting five from game one – Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter jnr.
Miami control the tip and have first use of the ball but Adebayo misses. Jokic does likewise at the other end. Strus hits a three and the Heat open the scoring.
More than one Joker in Denver … be afraid
Tip-off a few minutes away as Heat tinker with line-up
Players are still on court completing their warm-ups, tip-off a few more minutes away.
Caleb Martin (illness), Gabe Vincent (ankle) and Cody Zeller (foot) had been in slight doubt for Miami but will all play.
Veteran forward Kevin Love is set to start for Miami ahead of Martin.
Heat need Herro’s return but Tyler won’t be suiting up
Miami guard Tyler Herro won’t be suiting up for game two after being officially listed as out.
He hasn’t played for six weeks since breaking his hand early in the playoffs and has been cleared to resume basketball activities in training for a fortnight.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro is “not there yet” so he won’t be risked in game two.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the floor in the next two games in Miami.
“We’ve talked about knowing he’s gonna come back at some point in this series,” Malone said of Herro. “We know what kind of talent he is, his ability to play off the bounce, create for himself, create for his teammates and obviously shoot the three-ball. So, if and when he becomes available, our guys will be ready from a personnel standpoint and a gameplan standpoint.”
It’s been a long wait in Denver for Nuggets to strike gold
Nuggets fans have been waiting 47 years for their team to make the NBA Finals so you can forgive them for getting rather excited after their game-one victory over Miami.
The final 11-point margin was by no means massive but the manner in which they dismantled the Heat early and then kept them at arm’s length for the rest of the match should concern Miami fans, players and coaches.
Denver fans arrive for game two.Credit: Getty
Miami not only need to improve their defensive effort, particularly on Jokic to stop him setting up his teammates, they have to get better at putting the ball in the basket – they shot just 33% from three-point range and only 41% overall from the field.
Denver looked like they were happy for centre Bam Adebayo to operate in the paint as they focused on shutting down Jimmy Butler and the Heat’s outside shooters. Adebayo finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds but had little assistance from his teammates.
How do you solve a problem like Nikola?
Nikola Jokic dominated Miami in pretty much every facet in game one.
The two-time MVP had a 27-point triple double while guard Jamal Murray scored 26 as they became the first duo in NBA finals history to have at least 25 points and 10 assists in the same game since LA Lakers legends Magic Johnson and James Worthy achieved the feat in 1987.
That’s not bad company to be in.
“I don’t need to shoot and I know I don’t need to score to affect the game,” Jokic said.
Nikola Jokic dominated the Heat.Credit: Getty
Denver coach Michael Malone is worried about complacency creeping into his team.
“I told our players today, don’t read the paper, don’t listen to the folks on the radio and TV saying that this series is over and that we’ve done something, because we haven’t done a damn thing,” Malone said.
“We won Game 1. The reason I told our players I was excited this morning is because we won Game 1 and we didn’t play well, and there’s so many things we can do better.”
