ANKARA
The Denver Nuggets won their first NBA championship Monday night, eliminating the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 of the 2023 finals.
Serbian superstar Nikola Jokic, who is also a multi-time NBA All-Star, guided the Nuggets to the franchise’s first NBA title after scoring 28 points and taking 16 rebounds in a thrilling match at Denver’s Ball Arena.
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. delivered 16 points and 13 rebounds to contribute to the win.
Denver point guard Jamal Murray added 14 points and eight assists.
Visitors Heat’s small forward Jimmy Butler led his team with 21 points. His teammate Bam Adebayo racked up 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Miami.
Heat’s Max Strus and Kyle Lowry added 12 points each.
Miami were on a 71-70 lead by the end of the third quarter. The game was tight in the final quarter. But after stealing a ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was fouled to score both of his free throws to give a 92-89 lead to the Nuggets with 24.7 seconds remaining. He forced Miami to take a three pointer that Butler missed then.
Heat fouled Nuggets’ Bruce Brown to stop the clock. However, Brown hit both of his free throws to make it 94-89 for Denver. Following a timeout, Heat guard Lowry was in a hurry to take a three point jumper, but he missed it.
After the Nuggets took the best-of-seven series 4-1 to be this season’s champions, Denver center Jokic, 28, was named the 2023 NBA Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player).
Upon a question right after the win, Jokic said “the job is done, we can go home now.”
