Title-hungry Nuggets face odds-defying Heat

(UPDATE) DENVER: A Denver Nuggets squad looking to prove its championship quality, and an upstart Miami Heat lineup that made defying the odds a trademark are on an NBA Finals collision course.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Nikola Jokic of Serbia leads the Western Conference top seed Nuggets against sharpshooter Jimmy Butler and the Heat, who needed a play-in victory just to grab an eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray knocks the ball away from Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James during Game 1 of the NBA basketball Western Conference Finals series on May 16, 2023 in Denver. AP PHOTO

The best-of-seven championship series begins Thursday (Friday in Manila) at Denver. It's the Nuggets' first trip to the NBA Finals since making their league debut in 1976.

Denver has won hard-earned respect after 46 seasons of futility, this year as a playoff top seed for the first time.

“Our goal is to win a championship, so we have much more work to do,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

“Seems like for years now, some dusty old cowtown in the Rocky Mountains, the little respect that we get. You can sit there and complain about it or you can just embrace who we are and what we have.

“Until we win a championship, people are going to keep saying that about us. So that's what drives us. Getting to the finals doesn't do it. It's winning a championship.”

Jokic, a 6-foot-11 (2.11-m) center, averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and a career-high 9.8 assists a game this season and shot a career-best 63.2 percent from the floor.

Miami center Bam Adebayo says the key to slowing Jokic is “making him take tough shots” but added, “The biggest thing for us is to try to limit his assists. Sounds easier said than done. Biggest thing for us is watching film and figuring that out.”

The Nuggets have talent and depth around Jokic, led by guard Jamal Murray, who missed the entire 2021-2022 season due to a torn left knee ligament. He's averaging 27.7 points in the playoffs.

“I'm so happy for Jamal. He's a special player,” Jokic said. “He has been our best player since round one, really stepping up. Even if he doesn't make shots, his energy is always good. He's still fighting.”

Denver forwards Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown, and guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each average 10-15 points in the playoffs in supporting roles that have made the Nuggets formidable.

And there's more to come.

“We've got four more wins to go,” Murray said. “First Nuggets team to go all the way. We just want to make the most of the opportunity.”

Heat forged into steel

To do that, the Nuggets must defeat a giant-killer Heat team that became only the second eighth seed to reach the NBA Finals after the 1999 New York Knicks.

Miami, which lost two regular-season games against Denver, lost a play-in game to Atlanta then beat Chicago to grab the last East playoff spot.

The Heat stunned NBA wins-leader Milwaukee, beat New York and edged Boston in seven games in the East final after letting the Celtics pull level from a 0-3 hole.

“We have some incredible competitors in that locker room. They love the challenge,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Butler has averaged 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists a game in the playoffs but “Jimmy Buckets” says he isn't finished.