It’s official: The Nuggets will have to beat the Heat for first NBA title
May 29, 2023, 8:41 PM | Updated: 8:43 pm
Just like the Denver Nuggets did to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat have beaten the Boston Celtics in the conference finals.
Unlike the Nuggets, the Heat couldn’t sweep, but finally finished the job in Monday’s Game 7. They avoided a historic collapse, after leading the series 3-0 and flirting with disaster.
Miami advanced passed Boston with a 103-84 win, setting up a matchup with the Nuggets in the NBA Finals.
And just like how the Nuggets have cruised this postseason, so too have the Heat, outside of the three-game slide that made the ECF a little too close for comfort. Denver is 12-3 in these playoffs, while the Heat are 12-6.
But Miami had a rough regular season, so Denver will get home-court advantage in the NBA Finals.
Here’s the schedule for the matchup, with the action finally starting this week:
June 1: Game 1, 6:30 p.m. (ABC), Denver
June 4: Game 2, 6 p.m. (ABC), Denver
June 7: Game 3, 6:30 p.m. (ABC), Miami
June 9: Game 4, 6:30 p.m. (ABC), Miami
June 12: Game 5, 6:30 p.m. (ABC), Denver *
June 15: Game 6, 6:30 p.m. (ABC), Miami*
June 18: Game 7, 6 p.m. (ABC), Denver *
The Nuggets have beaten the Heat six-straight times, including twice during this year’s regular season. Six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic will star for the teams as two-time champion head coach Erik Spoelstra and longtime Nuggets boss Michael Malone call the shots.
The Heat are supported by two-time All-Star center Bam Adebayo and 20-point per game scoring guard Tyler Herro, if he returns from a broken hand.
Meanwhile, Denver has dynamic guard Jamal Murray next to Jokic supported by powerful forward Aaron Gordon and the sweet-shooting Michael Porter Jr. The Nuggets are deeper than the Heat, but Miami has found ways (thanks to some hot-shot-making) to thrive for the most part in these playoffs.
Denver has beaten Minnesota, Phoenix and Los Angeles to get to this point. While Miami played and split two play-in games before pulling an 8-1 upset on Milwaukee, beating New York and topping Boston.
The fun begins at Ball Arena on June 1.
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