Photo courtesy of Anadolu
MANILA – Denver won its first-ever National Basketball Association (NBA) title after edging Miami, 94-89, in Game 5 of the league finals on Tuesday (Philippine Time) at the Ball Arena in Colorado's state capital.
The Nuggets weathered a fourth-quarter storm from Jimmy Butler to finish the best-of-seven championship series with a gentleman's sweep.
With Butler taking over, Miami had a chance to extend the series to a Game 6, which could have been scheduled for Friday (Philippine Time) at their home after taking an 89-88 lead.
However, it was the unsung heroes, Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who finished the job for Denver.
Brown followed up on a Jamal Murray missed fadeaway to put Denver back on top, 90-89, before Caldwell-Pope picked Butler's pass after he was caught on a double team and made two free throws for the 92-89 count with 24.7 seconds remaining.
Butler tried to save Miami's season for at least five more minutes, but he missed the equalizing triple and Brown sealed Denver's championship with two more charities.
Nikola Jokic, who was eventually named the Most Valuable Player of the series, led the Nuggets with 28 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, and one block, while Michael Porter added 16 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists.
Upon a question right after the win, Jokic, 28, said "the job is done, we can go home now."
Butler finished with 21 points, 13 in the fourth quarter, three rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Bam Adebayo added 20 points, 12 rebounds, one assist and one steal for the Heat.
Denver became the second team to win an NBA title after jumping from the old American Basketball Association, and like San Antonio when it first won it all in 1999, it came at the expense of a team that entered the finals as an eighth seed. (with reports from Anadolu/PNA)
