The Colorado Springs Gazette final

THREE TAKEAWAYS

VINNY BENEDETTO, THE GAZETTE

The Nuggets are no longer perfect at home this postseason after Miami stole home-court advantage with a 111-108 win in Sunday’s Game 2.

Here are three takeaways from Ball Arena:

1. The Nuggets had plenty of chances to take a 2-0 lead but couldn’t provide Nikola Jokic, who led all scorers with 41 points, enough help. Jamal Murray scored eight late points to make it close but missed a game-tying shot at the buzzer. It wasn’t a bad look, but the Nuggets could’ve gotten a better one with a timeout.

2. The Heat made a few tough 3s, but too many of Miami’s 3-pointers came off lapses in focus or communication from the Nuggets’ defense. The Heat made 17 of 35 from deep, too many of which were wide open. They outscored the Nuggets (1128) by 18 points on 3-pointers.

3. Denver’s bench did its job in the first half. When Jokic checked out after playing the entire first quarter, the Nuggets trailed by three. Led by the effort of Bruce Brown, Christian Braun and Jeff Green, Jokic returned to an 11-point lead five minutes into the second quarter. The second half didn’t go as well, as Jokic led the Nuggets to an eight-point advantage after three quarters. He had to return 72 seconds into the fourth after the Heat cut Denver’s lead to two.

NUGGETS

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2023-06-05T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-05T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/282252374919855

The Gazette, Colorado Springs