The Denver Nuggets celebrated a historic triumph as they claimed their first-ever NBA championship in 47 seasons by defeating the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5.
Nikola Jokic spearheaded the Nuggets’ victory with an impressive performance, contributing 28 points and 16 rebounds. The best-of-seven NBA Finals concluded with a resounding 4-1 series win for the Nuggets, delighting their sellout crowd and adding to Miami’s tally of three finals losses in the last decade.
Following the momentous win, Nuggets coach, Michael Malone, expressed the team’s hunger for continued success: “We’re not content with just one championship; we aspire to achieve more.” This victory filled the final void in Jokic’s already illustrious career. The Serbian star, who has been recognised as the NBA Most Valuable Player twice and selected for the All-Star team five times, clinched the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award.
Despite struggling with shooting accuracy throughout the game, the Nuggets displayed remarkable resilience, blanking Miami for over five minutes in the fourth quarter. Jokic acknowledged the team’s effort, saying: “It was an amazing effort by the team. It was an ugly game. We couldn’t make shots. But in the end, we figured out how to defend and we scored 90 points. That’s why we won. I’m just happy we won the game. It’s good. The job is done and we can go home now.”
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 21 points while Bam Adebayo contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds in a high-stakes game. Although the Heat struggled in the fourth quarter, Jamal Murray’s jumper gave the Denver Nuggets an 81-76 lead with 6:43 remaining.
A controversial foul on Aaron Gordon resulted in back-to-back 3-pointers and three free throws from Butler, giving Miami an 89-88 advantage. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s steal and two clutch free throws secured a 92-89 edge for Denver, and despite Butler’s missed 3-pointer, Brown grabbed the rebound and sealed the victory with two free throws, clinching the Nuggets’ maiden NBA title.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
