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Good morning to everyone but especially to...
THE MIAMI HEAT
How did the Heat get here? There's been the Jimmy Butler games. The Caleb Martin or the Gabe Vincent or the *insert role player here* games. The lockdown defense games. The scorching shooting games. But nothing cohesive. No overarching theme.
Until now.
The Heat just find ways to win. Through coaching. Through sheer will and toughness. On Sunday, they used it all to stun the Nuggets, 111-108, and even the Finals at 1-1. In a frantic ending, Denver cut Miami's lead from 12 to three with incredible shot-making from Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. Murray got a decent look for 3 at the buzzer but missed.
Miami outscored Denver, 36-25, in the fourth quarter and shot 11-16 (68.8%) in that frame. It's the third-best field goal percentage in a Finals fourth quarter in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97).Duncan Robinson jumpstarted the comeback with 10 quick points in the quarter. Jimmy Butler had eight, Bam Adebayo had seven, and Gabe Vincent had five.The Heat trailed by as much as 15. This marks their seventh double-digit comeback this postseason, tied for the most of any team in the play-by-play era.Oh, and keep in mind the Nuggets hadn't lost at home since March. The Heat have the Nuggets right where they want them, opines our Bill Reiter.
Reiter: "In so many ways, Miami showed, yet again, the pattern of play that has gotten them here. A refusal to let doubt creep in... Momentum is a powerful thing. So is belief, when it's genuine and widespread. Miami now has both."Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for...
USATSITHE DENVER NUGGETS
Nuggets coach Michael Malone didn't think his team played well in Game 1, which Denver won comfortably. He echoed that again after Game 2, saying the Nuggets' effort was "a huge concern." Jeff Green was more blunt: "This is the f---ing Finals, man. Our energy has to be better."
Neither of them are wrong. Thanks to mistakes and poor performances, the Nuggets not only wasted Jokic's 41 points but blew home-court advantage in the process. Here's what stood out:
Michael Porter Jr. had five points on 2-8 shooting and multiple defensive mistakes, a major reason why he played just 26 minutes. The Nuggets need Porter, a supremely talented, 6'10" matchup nightmare, to get going.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope committed two awful fouls on 3-point attempts late in the shot clock, which led to five Heat points. When the margin for error is tiny, those are massive plays.Murray nearly rescued Denver late, but entering the fourth quarter, he had 10 points on nine shots. The Nuggets need him to be assertive throughout.Shots come and go, but the defensive miscues are inexcusable. In the first 2:16 of the fourth quarter...
Murray bit on a Robinson pump fake, leading to a 3.Murray closed out lackadaisically on Robinson, who drove by him for a layup.Jeff Green was late to contest a Robinson 3.The Heat ran Robinson off a screen, and both Christian Braun and Bruce Brown followed him, allowing a wide-open Gabe Vincent 3.The Heat repeated that exact action, Braun got stuck behind the screen, Brown was in no man's land, and Robinson got another layup.There were, simply, too many breakdowns throughout the game allowing the Heat to go 17-35 (48.6%) from 3, notes our Sam Quinn.
Offensively, Jokic dominated the points category but had more turnovers (five) than assists (four) for the first time this postseason. Denver is 0-3 this postseason when Jokic has at least 40 points, and Miami limiting his playmaking was crucial.
Denver has some soul-searching to do as the series shifts to Miami.
Not so honorable mentions
MLB Power Rankings: The AL is taking over ⚾
USATSIIt's the American League's world, and we're just living in it. AL teams own five of the six best records in MLB and, more important, the top five spots in Matt Snyder's Power Rankings.
1. Rays2. Rangers3. Astros4. Orioles5. YankeesHere's more from the weekend:
