NBA - Denver Nuggets v Miami Heat


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Denver Nuggets v Miami Heat

2022-23 NBA Finals

Game 1
Friday, 2 June 2023
Ball Arena
Denver, Colorado
Tip-off at 02:30  
 
The Miami Heat are considered underdogs in their quest to win a fourth championship when they go up against the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on the morning of Friday, June 2.
 
The Heat beat the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals to lift the title for the seventh time, becoming only the second franchise to reach the NBA Finals as eighth seeds after the New York Knicks achieved the feat in 1999.
 
Not many gave Erik Spoelstra's team a chance after they lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the first game of the play-in tournament but they've gone 13-6 since then, dispatching the Milwaukee Bucks, the Knicks and the Celtics in the playoffs.

Michael Porter Jr.
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Miami were on the verge of sweeping Boston in four games but were eventually taken to Game 7, where Jimmy Butler excelled once more after scoring 28 points to help secure a 103-84 victory.
 
Butler is enjoying a fine post-season, averaging 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists, while shooting 48.3 per cent from the field.
 
The Heat Forward was adamant they would "get it done" this season following their loss to the Celtics in Game 7 of Eastern Conference Finals last year, and Spoelstra praised his ability to lift his team-mates.
 
Jimmy Butler
Image copyright: Getty Images 

 
"You have to have a guy that you can hold on to, particularly in those moments of truth," the Miami head coach said. "I've said this before, there's no way to quantify the confidence that he can instill in everybody."
 
Spoelstra insists they have only grown stronger in the face of adversity and believes anything is possible in the NBA Finals.
 
"Life is hard. Professional sports is just kind of a reflection sometimes of life, that things don't always go your way," he added. "The inevitable setbacks happen, and it's how you deal with that collectively.
 
"There's a lot of different ways that it can go. It can sap your spirit. It can take a team down for whatever reason. With this group, it's steeled us and made us closer and made us tougher."
 

Denver Nuggets v Miami Heat - Head-to-head, Regular Season

Games played: 72
Nuggets wins: 38
Heat wins: 34
 

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Published: 06/01/2023