By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat had a high-scoring offensive battle in a 2023 NBA Finals rematch. The Heat defeated the Nuggets 147-123 on Monday night.
Miami dominated every quarter except the second quarter. The team scored 84 points in the second half. Eight Heat players finish in double figures.
Norman Powell led the Heat with 25 points. Nikola Jovic added 22 points and made 5 3-pointers. Jamie Jaquez Jr had an outstanding performance, recording a double-double with 20 points and 11 assists. Bam Adebayo also had a double-double.
Kel’el Ware continues to show Miami that he’s worthy to play heavy minutes and can answer to the challenge. Ware had 19 points with 9 rebounds and made three three-pointers.
Miami outrebounded Denver 46 to 36. The ball movement was incredible (40 to 29), and the team scored 19 points off turnovers. Miami did everything right in this game, and we can’t forget that they scored 18 fastbreak points compared to Denver’s 9. The Heat had a much better free-throw shooting night and shot well from the perimeter.
When the bench steps up, the Heat are a lethal team. Miami can be an elite team in the East, but they’re lacking consistency. Miami’s performance against a good team like Denver is the way the team should answer the bell night in and night out.
As good as the Heat victory was, the unfortunate part of this game was that it stole the headlines, and that’s Nikola Jokic’s knee injury. Jokic injured his left knee with about three seconds left before the end of the second quarter. He did not return to the game.
Jokic is a three-time MVP. He’s one of the most durable players in the game. The Nuggets have gone 13-23 in the absence of Jokic’s entire tenure with the Nuggets. Jokic has played in all 32 of Denver’s games this season, and he’s in the MVP conversation. We hope that this isn’t a devastating injury. The nuggets are already hampered with injuries.
The Heat improved to 17-15. Denver falls to 22-9. The next game for Miami will be on the road against the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons, on New Year’s Day at 7 pm ET.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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