The Nuggets have their 1st Championship in their 47 year franchise history. When asked if he was excited for the Thursday parade, Jokic groaned and stated “I need to go home”. His nonchalant locker room celebration, tossing Jamal Murry in the recovery pool, and post-game press conference will be remembered and linked to the superstar. The Nuggets 16-4 postseason record, 8-1 from the conference finals onwards, was one of the best marks in NBA history. Denver was able to knock out a pesky Minnesota in round 1, Phoenix with Durant and Booker in round 2, and a Lakers sweep with Anthony Davis and LeBron James in the conference finals. Finally, the Miami Heat’s run, who themselves took down the 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks as only the second 8 seed to ever make the finals comes to a halt. The reality that Miami isn’t at the top of the 2024 preseason rankings after this season’s run, rather a team that needs serious renovation to be a playoff team again is setting in. But the Nuggets Championship shouldn’t be diminished.
The Finals game logs:
Game 1 saw the Nuggets comfortably win 104-93 with a 21 point lead after 3 quarters. Denver had 10 days to prepare. Miami was two days removed from game 7 of the brutal Eastern Conference Finals and some critics might blame the altitude but Miami flew right to Denver after Game 7 to get adjusted. Jimmy Butler wasn’t as assertive shooting only 6/14 for 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Notably missing was his driving to the rim which helped contribute to a historically low two free throw attempts for Miami. Bam Adebayo scored 26 with 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Gabe Vincent was 5/10 from three and finished with 19 point. Kevin Love didn’t log a minute of time as the group went small adding Caleb Martin to the mix who finished with 3 points while Max Stus was 0/10 and the squad shot 13/39 overall from 3 and 40% from the field overall. Kyle Lowery contributed 11-5-5, Duncan Robinson struggled shooting 1/6 and Haywood Highsmith had a rare appearance off the bench logging 23 minutes and scoring 18 on 7/10 shooting.
The Nuggets only shot 29% from 3, a trend that would continue throughout the series, while going 16/20 from the charity stripe and shooting 50% from the floor. Jokic only logged 12 shot attempts on a 27-10-14 stat line as he setup Murray who finished with 26 and 10 assists and Aaron Gordon who has been important in the Finals. He was 7/10 with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Michal Porter Jr (MPR) would struggle throughout the series and opened game 1 with 16 shot attempts including 11 threes. He’d hit two of them and five shots total to finish with 14 points and grab 13. Caldwell Pope (KCP) finished with 7 points and would play both great and horrible defense in the series. He’s was a mixed bag possession to possession. Bruce Brown had 10-5-2 off the bench and would prove to be invaluable to the team throughout the series with his Swiss army knife abilities. The Nuggets actually had more turnovers 10-8 and narrowly won on the boards 29-26. Bam, MPJ, Jokic, and Murray all logged 40+ minutes with Jimmy just a touch under.
Game 2 was a stunning finale as the Nuggets lost a 15 point lead in the 3rd to allow Miami to steal home court. Kevin Love was reinserted into the starting lineup and logged 22 minutes with a 6 point, 10 rebound, 2 steal stat line. He shot a miserable 2/9 (2/6 from 3) but provided more interior size and presence on defense without taking away 3 point shooting on offense. The three’s did finally start to fall for Miami who shot over 48% 17/35. They were 48% from the field and 90% from the line with twenty attempts. Butler struggled to shoot from the floor again going 7/19 but scored 21 and dished 9 assists. Bam had 21-9, Vincent 23 points and Strus 14. Caleb Martin only had 3 has he had reportedly been struggling with an illness, Lowry had 9 and Robinson scored all 10 of his points in the 4th.
Jokic was forced to be the primary scorer for the Nuggets shooting 16/28 for 41/11/4. While Murry was 7/15 for 18/10 assists. He missed a 3 at the buzzer to send the game to OT. MPJ again struggled going 2/8 for 5 points and 6 boards. KCP had 6 points. Aaron Gordon was 5/7 and hit both his three’s for 12 points and 7 rebounds as he continued to look like the #3 guy on the squad. Brown had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals off the bench, Braun added 6 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, and Jeff Green logged more time as Porters minutes reduced. Murry, Jokic, Butler, Bam all logged 40 minutes again. Denver had more turnovers 14-11, boards 38-31 went Denver’s way and Denver outscored Miami by double-digit points in the pant again. All three advantages in game 2 and 3. Denver actually shot 52% from the field and 39% from three on 28 attempts, seven fewer than the Heat. They were still right in this game with many things working out for Miami like the 3 point shooting, keeping the ball out of Murray’s hands and MPJ being a complete non-factor sometimes. This game will be a sticking point as the game that avoided the sweep in NBA history, but really the Nuggets just fell asleep at the wheel a bit and had every opportunity to sweep the Heat.
Game 3 in Miami will be known as the triple-double game. Jokic 34/21/10 and Murry 34/10/10, who stayed in the game in the 4th to secure his 10th rebound are first teammates to have a tripdoub in Finals history. Jokic was 12/21 shooting. Murray was 12/22 in 44 and 45 minutes respectively. They barely left the floor and they started to separate themselves so far away from the role players that Christan Braun, the rookie of the bench, was the arguably the third most impactful player of the game. He exploded for 15 points in 19 minutes off the bench Coach Malone had kept the 21st pick in the draft out of Kansas in the rotation playing 15 minutes per game in 76 games in the regular season to keep him ready to contribute. He’d been part of the short eight man rotation in the first two games with minimal impact. Gordon logged 11 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists and was again the true number three. KCP and Bruce Brown’s impact was felt positively outside of scoring, they combined for 11 points. 51% shooting, only 27% from three and 81% from the free throw iine.
Miami shoots 37% from the field, 31% from three. Butler is 11/24 for 28, Bam is 7/21 for 22 points and 17 rebounds. They rest of the starters combine for 16 points on 4/22 shooting. Martin had 10 points on the bench and Lowry had 9. Butler and Bam played 40-41 minutes. Denver crushed Miami in the paint 60-34, on the boards 58-33, and still survived a losing 14-4 turnover margin.
Udonis Haslem at 2 days shy of 43 was the oldest player to play in the Finals as he checked in for the final 30 seconds of the 109-94 blowout.
Game 4 the Nuggets saw a 15 point 4th quarter lead fall to 8 after Jokic picked up his 4th and 5th fouls and hit the bench. He still logged 23 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks in 37 minutes and played another good defensive game. Jokic isn’t known for his defense and can’t be defined as a “rim protector” or “shot blocker” but played well in the final and did exceptionally well at kicking balls and deflecting passes in game 4. His shooting wasn’t at the high level as previous games, only going 8/19 and Murry struggled as well going 5/17 for 15 points and 12 rebounds. Gordon and Bruce Brown off the bench helped pick up the slack. Gordon was 11/15 for 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. He was ¾ from three. Brown was 8/11 for 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. Porter, again, struggled shooting 4/10 for 11 points and KCP hit a couple threes. The Nuggets shot a whopping 50% (14/28) from the three and under 50% from the field at….49.4%! for the first time in the series.
Miami shot 44% from the field and 32% from three in the 108-95 loss. Butler had his best shooting game at 9/17 for 25-7-7. Bam and 20-11 and 7 turnovers as he and Butler played 44+ minutes. Love had 11, but Vincent and Strus were atrocious again combining for 2 points and 1/10 from the field. With the supporting starters struggling, the bench logged additional minutes. Duncan Robinson scored 12 in 25 minutes, Caleb Martin had 11 and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes and Kyle Lowry had 13 and 7 assists in 33 minutes. The Nuggets had a slight edge in points in the paint and rebounds and finally won the turnover edge 15-8.
Game 5, the clincher, saw a wild 4th quarter where Miami went five and a half minutes without a field goal for a stretch. By the time the next bucket came, the lead only four. Butler scored the final 13 points for the Heat off a 3, 3, 3 free throws, a jumper, and two more free throws but it wasn’t enough. The Nuggets outscore Miami 24-18 in the 4th and clinch the championship at the free throw line 94-89. Denver shot a series low 45%, 17% from three, and 56% from the line. Miami shot 34-25-87 in a exhausting slugfest. Butler finished with only 21 points on 5/18 shooting. Bam was 9/20 for 20 points and 12 rebounds. Vincent, Stus, Martin, Duncan combined 14/40 shooting from the field and 2/17 from three for 6/12/10/5 points respectively. Kyle Lowery was a solid contributor logging 34 minutes and hit four 3’s to go with 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block. He finished 4/13 shooting and had 5 fouls.
Jokic was 12/16 for 28 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists. Murry didn’t have a great offensive game going 6/15 for 14 points, 8 and 8, MPJ had another horrible shooting game going 7/17 and 1/6 from three but finished with 16 and 13 rebounds. KCP, Gordon and Brown combined 1/12 from three and struggled offensively but contributed greatly. KCP had three blocks and two steals. Bam, Butler, Jokic, Murry each logged 40+ minutes ago. Nuggets were +13 on the boards, +16 in the paint and -7 in turnovers.
Denver won the Finals without the losing turnover margin playing a large factor due to their efficiency on offense and they scored without the three ball for the most part. Denver had the fewest made threes for a Championship team in the Finals since the 2012 Miami Heat team with Lebron/Wade/Bosh. Crashing the boards, scoring in the paint, and finding good shots setup by Jokic was the Nuggets recipe.
Tyler Herro never made a return despite rumors for every game starting after game 2. His ability to create his own shot would have been beneficial. Victor Oladipo had been injured and out for the season and would have added scoring as well.
Jokic finally gained widespread respect (after 2 MVP’s mind you) with the Championship run. He averaged 30 points, 13.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists and had over 60% true shooting percentage. The best series performance with that stat line in finals history and it’s not even close. It’s worth noting that Jokic and Jamal Murry have played together for seven seasons and first played together on the 2014 Hoops Summit Team. Steph/Klay & Giannis/Middleton are the only other duos that have played together longer and both have won Championships. Murry has missed the past two postseason with a torn ACL and wondered after the injury if he was going to get traded. This season has been his redemption and the past two seasons will be reflected upon as “What if the Nuggets were healthy?” years. KCP, Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, Christian Braun were all important pieces added last offseason to complete the roster. KCP for his “3 and D” meshing. Bruce Brown has played on three teams in four years and has earned himself a comfortable contract this offseason with his ability to play multiple positons, score, handle, and play defense. Jeff Green is one of the older players in the league and has played on 12 teams in 15 seasons. This is his first Championship. Christian Braun was a late 1st round pick that played 15+ minutes in 70+ games during the regular season as he was groomed to be a rotation player for this squad. He’s won Championships at the high school, college (Kansas), and now NBA level. Denver is also the 2nd team out of the four squads that survived the 1976 ABA/NBA merger to win a title, joining the San Antonio Spurs (New York Nets & Indiana Pacers are the others).
It’s possible Denver should be back next season, according to history. The past five years have given us five different champs in the Raptors (19), Lakers (20), Bucks (21), Warriors (22), and Nuggets. The first time there has been five different champs in five years since the 1977-81 stretch and only the fifth time in NBA history that a 5-year window has had five different Champions since the inaugural 1947 Championship. Once in NBA history have six different teams won over a six year period (75-80).
If history tells us a new team isn’t likely next season, who has the best chance to grab another chip from the last group of champions? A struggling Raptors roster? Last gasp LeBron or Curry? Salary strapped Milwaukee? Or young and just getting started Denver?
