NBA Finals Game 2 – (8) Heat at (1) Nuggets, Sunday 8 ET on ABC, ESPN-SWFL 7pm. The Nuggets took Game 1 and have a playoff series record of 8-7 when leading 1-0 in a best-of-7.
The Heat have a 8-10 series record when trailing 1-0 in a best-of-7. In Finals history, teams win 70% of the time (53-23) after taking Game 1.
Looking ahead, the Heat are trying to avoid a 2-0 hole. Miami is 1-6 when trailing 0-2 in a best-of-7 (2006 Finals vs Mavericks was the lone win), while Denver is 7-0 with a 2-0 series lead in a best-of-7. In Finals history, teams win 86% of the time (31-5) with a 2-0 series lead.
Including playoffs, Denver is 7-0 vs the Heat since the 2020-21 season and have won 10 of the last 11 overall between these teams. The status for the Heat's Tyler Herro for tonight's game also remains unchanged.
What Went Wrong For Miami In Game 1?
The Heat had an awful 3-point shooting game in Game 1. Miami shot 13-39 (33%) from deep in Game 1 after shooting 43.4% in the East Finals vs the Celtics. They struggled even when they got open looks as well.
That included 0-9 from Max Strus, tied for the 2nd-worst 3-point shooting performance in Finals history behind John Starks (0-11 in 1994 Game 7 vs the Rockets).
The trio of Strus, Caleb Martin and Duncan Robinson combined to shoot 2-23 overall in Game 1 (6 total points). That 8.7% FG pct is 3rd-worst by a Trio in a Finals game in the shot-clock era (min. 20 attempts). Those 3 combined to shoot 54% in the East Finals while averaging 40.1 PPG.
Say What?
Miami also had 2 free throw attempts the whole game, fewest in NBA playoff history. The flip side is that the Nuggets committed 8 fouls, 4 fewer than any other team in Finals history. We talked about this unbelievable stat on Shemon and Sheppard this past Friday. Denver also only committed 8 team fouls for the entire game!
Jimmy Butler had a quiet 13 points in Game 1, his fewest in a game this postseason. In addition, Butler had 0 free throw attempts for just the 2nd time in 82 games this season (Oct. 21 vs Celtics, which was the 2nd game of the season).
Denver Nuggets Game 1 Fun Facts
The Nuggets moved to 9-0 at home this playoffs after their Game 1 win. Should they win Game 2, 10 straight wins would match the longest home win streak to begin a playoffs in NBA history (done 7 times, most recently by the 2018 Celtics).
Denver won Game 1 by 11 points, becoming the 39th team to win Game 1 of the Finals by double digits. The prior 38 went on to win the series 76% of the time (29-9). However, it’s happened each of the last 2 years and both lost (2022 Celtics won Game 1 by 12, 2021 Suns won Game 1 by 13).
Nikola Jokic delivered another triple-double in Game 1, posting 27 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds and 8-12 FG.
