Miami is going back home tied 1-1 in the 2023 NBA Finals.
The Heat took Game 2 on the road against the Denver Nuggets 111-108. Miami led by double digits in the first quarter, then trailed by double digits in the second before embarking on a 36-25 fourth-quarter rally to even the series.
After shooting a putrid 0-for-10 (0-for-9 from deep) in Game 1, Max Strus got Miami hot early. The 27-year-old Strus found his long-range jumper early and drilled four in the opening quarter alone, while Gabe Vincent supplied the secondary scoring.
Miami took a commanding 21-10 lead with 4:42 to go in the opening 12 minutes, but Nikola Jokic's paint scoring proved to be a threat early, which pioneered Denver's incoming run after it cut the deficit to 26-23 by the end of the quarter.
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The Nuggets then dominated the second quarter immediately to no fault of Miami's. Denver's shotmaking augmented a level and the transition game went in its favor. Christian Braun, Bruce Brown and Jeff Green all also provided a crucial spark off the bench that saw Denver score 34 points in the quarter to Miami's 25. The game state went from a Heat double-digit cushion to one for the Nuggets.
The third quarter was a true back-and-forth affair as Miami looked to retake the lead, but there was simply no stopping Jokic. The two-time league MVP finished the quarter with 31 points in 30 minutes, with the second-highest Nugget behind Jamal Murray with 10. The Heat had four players in double figures: Strus, Vincent, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
But the final period was all Miami, which used a 29-12 start to take a double-digit lead of their own. Denver managed an 11-2 run late to make it 109-106 with a minute to go, but it didn't have enough after Murray missed the potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Jokic led Denver and all scorers with 41 points on 16-for-28 shooting (2-for-5 from deep), 11 rebounds and four assists. Murray added 18 on 7-for-15 shooting, but it was Miami's group effort that got it done.
Vincent led the way with 23 on 8 of 12 shooting while Butler and Adebayo each added 21. Strus scored 12 in the opening quarter but only managed two after to total 14. Duncan Robinson chipped in 10 off the bench on 4 of 5 shooting.
Also of vital importance to Miami on the night was Kevin Love. The 34-year-old got the start after not featuring at all in Game 1, and in 22 minutes, provided six points, 10 rebounds, two steals and an assist with a plus-18 rating.
After the game, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra blamed himself for not tinkering with the rotation more in Thursday's Game 1 loss, which he says could've used more Love.
“Clearly we needed that size and physicality and veteran experience that K Love brings," Spoelstra said.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, on the other hand, was not happy with his team's lack of application in the loss compared to the energy inserted by Miami.
"Let's talk about effort," Malone started. "I mean, this is the NBA Finals and we're talking about effort. That's a huge concern of mine... And that to me is really, really perplexing, disappointing.
"Miami came in here and outworked us. We had by far our most undisciplined game of the playoffs."
Malone added the Nuggets' main objective now is to try to steal a game back in Miami, which they'll do because "we're going to play harder than them and be more disciplined than them."
The win for Miami made it the first time Denver lost a game at home since March 12. The Heat had to record a shooting split of 49/49/90 from the field to do so, illustrating the level it takes to stop the top-seeded Nuggets, particularly on their home floor.
Game 3 will head to Miami on Wednesday, June 7, with tip off slated for 8:30 p.m. ET.
