Denver moves a win away from its first-ever NBA title after toppling Heat in Game 4

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña 

The Denver Nuggets showed no signs of slowing down and dealt the Miami Heat a second-straight loss on their home floor to take Game 4 of the NBA Finals, 108-95, last June 10, 2023, and is only a win away from their first-ever championship title.

Fresh from a dominant Game 3 win to set the tone on the road in front of a hostile Miami crowd, the Nuggets didn’t relax and continued to stick to their game plan to take away the Heat’s home-court advantage in the last two games.

It was just another display of beautiful team basketball for Denver as the squad racked up 26 total assists, one of their best-passing games in the ongoing 2023 NBA Playoffs.

Last Game 3, it was rookie Christian Braun who stood out and acted as the catalyst to score their first road win of the finals but this time, veteran power forward Aaron Gordon stole the limelight and led the Nuggets’ assault midway through the second quarter.

Gordon suddenly flipped the switch after only scoring a point in the first 12 minutes of the game and dominated on the inside to help Denver break the 30-all deadlock.

From banging bodies underneath to score tons of deuces and scoring breakaway dunks, Gordon also demoralized the Heat defense after sinking three out of his four total attempts from downtown.

The Heat made it obvious since Game 1 that they were willing to give Gordon an open look from the three-point area as the high-leaping forward isn’t a great shooter from the outside his whole career.

Miami then paid the price as Gordon was locked-in during Game 4 to finish the victory with 27 big points, seven rebounds, six assists, and one steal.

It was shades of Game 3 as both teams were still in a nip-and-tuck affair after the opening frame. Things then began to swing Denver’s way after Gordon’s explosion backstopped by the consistent scoring of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Denver swelled their lead to double-digits in the third quarter but Kevin Love countered with a personal nine-point eruption to keep the Heat within striking distance.

Miami had a glimmer of hope in the fourth and final quarter when Jokic got whistled for his fifth foul with still nine minutes remaining in the game.

The Heat had a good offensive showing after Jimmy Butler’s foul-counted play got them to within just five points but the Nuggets embraced the moment and frustrated Miami with several haymaker courtesy of Bruce Brown, Jeff Green, and Murray.

When Miami scored on the other end, Denver always provided huge answers which helped them protect their lead up to the crucial final stretch of the game.

Denver also had a big game from Brown after contributing 21 points and four rebounds while the duo of Jokic and Murray combined for 38 points, 15 rebounds, and 16 assists.

Meanwhile, Butler delivered 25 points for the Heat but failed to add more during the last four minutes of the game.

Bam Adebayo kept his streak of 20-point games alive alongside 11 rebounds but the Miami squad just can’t keep up with the Denver pace especially when their role players are struggling all night.

Max Struss, Miami’s starting shooter, had his second scoreless performance for the Heat while Gabe Vincent only chipped in a deuce in 18 minutes of playing time.

The Heat will be facing elimination on June 13, 2023, and will head back on the road when they play the Nuggets in the Ball Arena.