We’re ready to win a championship — Murray

(UPDATE) MIAMI: The Denver Nuggets act like they've been here before.

There is an unmistakable poise to the Nuggets, who are only one win away from their first NBA championship and could hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy as early as Monday (Tuesday in Manila) when the finals return to Denver for Game 5.

Their stars have been starry in their first finals appearance. Their role players have delivered. There hasn't been a colossal blunder. And even on the cusp of a title, they refuse to change their approach.

Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets tips off against Max Strus of the Miami Heat during the third quarter in Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Finals at Kaseya Center on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Miami, Florida. AFP PHOTO

“We need to win one more,” two-time MVP Nikola Jokic said.

That's the Nuggets. Simple. Effective. Blunt.

With Jokic and Jamal Murray leading the way, and with basically a different person stepping up to be the third hero every night so far for the Nuggets, they have the Miami Heat in serious trouble now. They lead the finals 3-1 and with potentially two of the next three games — if needed — in Denver.

“We're just ready to win a championship,” Murray said. “We have the tools to do it. It's been on our minds for a while. We're just locked in. I don't think you've got to overthink it. We're just dialed in, ready to win.”

History says this series is pretty much over; only one team in NBA history has dug its way out of such a hole in the finals, that being the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors. Heat forward Kevin Love played for that Cleveland team.

It will be a daunting task.

The Nuggets have held Miami under 100 points three times through the first four games; those were the three Denver wins in the series. They're 9-1 at home, the only loss coming in Game 2 of this series when Miami pulled off a big rally and survived when a potentially game-tying 3-pointer by Murray missed at the buzzer.

Denver isn't talking about a parade; some city officials in Dallas were during the 2006 finals when the Mavericks led Miami 2-0, and the Heat won the next four games.

The Nuggets aren't making any such blunders. No blunders at all, really. Every detail is covered, even remembering to run the 24-second shot clock down to the very end on multiple possessions in the final minutes of Game 4, just to shorten the game and limit whatever chance Miami had at making a comeback.

“We've done our job. But we're not celebrating like we've done anything yet,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.