The other, somewhat surprisingly: Ray Allen, a past Heat finals hero who was 0 for 13 for Boston against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010. And Max Strus was 0 for 10, 0 for 9 on three-pointers, and became just the second player in the last 45 years to take that many shots without a make in a finals game. Or at least, not until Denver were too far ahead to catch.Ĭaleb Martin, who narrowly missed out on winning the MVP award of the Eastern Conference finals, was 1 for 7. “I don’t need to shoot and I know I don’t need to score to affect the game,” Jokić said. He had 10 points and 10 assists by the break, and Denver was up 59-42 after the first two quarters – with Jokić taking only three shots. Jokić became the second player in the last 25 years – LeBron James was the other, in 2017 – to have 10 assists by halftime of a finals game. ![]() The Nuggets’ Jamal Murray throws down a dunk during the first half of Thursday’s opening game of the NBA finals in Denver. “We were ready,” Denver guard Bruce Brown said. They were the team with minimal NBA finals experience, only two players having been to the title round before, and yet they looked right at home before the home crowd in Game 1. Malone gave his team a pop quiz in shootaround Thursday morning, peppering them with questions about the game plan and what had to be done in the most important game to date in franchise history. The Heat actually got within nine on a three-pointer by Highsmith with 2:34 left, but no closer and there wasn’t any doubt, either. Miami opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, cutting an 84-63 deficit to start the final period down to 84-74. Other fans at courtside included Vin Diesel, Adam Sandler and Aaron Donald.“We’ve got to attack the rim a lot more, myself included,” Butler said.Īdded Adebayo, tongue firmly in cheek: “We made history” The star free-agent guard has been linked to a reunion with James on the Lakers next season. … Kyrie Irving watched the game from courtside. … Veteran Tristan Thompson had four points in 10 minutes during the most significant playing time of his Lakers career, which began in the final weekend of the regular season. … James’ 21 points were the most by a Lakers player in a playoff first quarter since at least 1997. The moves immediately worked, with the two new starters combining for 19 points in the first half. … Ham shook up his starting lineup for the Lakers’ last chance, replacing struggling D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt with Dennis Schröder and Hachimura. ![]() Lakers: James got an accidental 3-pointer in the first half when his lob pass to Rui Hachimura went in the basket. Denver is 12-3 overall in the postseason. … The Nuggets have yet to trail in any series, and they’re 8-0 at home in the playoffs – 10-0 since March. ![]() Nuggets: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope converted a four-point play in the first quarter. Denver pushed its lead to seven before the Lakers rallied, with Davis’ putback dunk tying it with 5:02 to play. After tying his playoff career high for points in a quarter in his record 282nd postseason game, he matched his career high for points in any first half.īut the Nuggets responded with a 36-16 third quarter, taking their first lead less than eight minutes after halftime. Facing elimination for the first time in their remarkable playoff run, James and the Lakers responded with their best half of the series, taking a 73-58 halftime lead on James’ broad shoulders.
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