NBA star Lillard wants trade, prefers deal to Miami: reports

NEW YORK -- Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has requested a trade and the seven-time NBA All-Star guard prefers a deal to the Miami Heat, according to multiple reports on Saturday.

Lillard, who turns 33 on July 15, is due $204 million over the next four years. He has spent all 11 of his NBA campaigns with Portland but has gone past the second round only once in eight trips to the playoffs.

Lillard's request was reported by ESPN and The Athletic with the Miami Herald also reporting Lillard wants only the Heat, being a close friend of Heat star Bam Adebayo and having respect for playmaker Jimmy Butler.

Butler and Adebayo were keys in the Heat making a run from the play-in games to the NBA Finals last month, where Miami lost to the Denver Nuggets.

Lillard averaged a career-high 32.2 points and 7.3 assists and matched a career-best by shooting 46.3% over 58 games last season. He would be the largest point scorer in NBA history to swap teams for the next campaign, ESPN reported.

"We want Dame here but he notified us today he wants out and he'd prefer to play someplace else," Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin said.

"What has not changed for us is that we're committed to winning, and we are going to do what's best for the team in pursuit of that goal."

Portland finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs for the second season in a row.

The Trail Blazers are expected to want young talent and draft picks in exchange from any team interested in Lillard. Those with salary cap room to make the deal include the Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets.

Players on the Heat who could be moved in exchange likely include guards Kyle Lowry and Tyler Herro and forward Duncan Robinson.

ESPN reported Lillard has a "deep respect" for the San Antonio Spurs, who just landed French teen star big man Victor Wembanyama. But the Spurs finished 22-60 last season and missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive campaign.

Lillard played under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on the US Tokyo Olympic gold medal squad.

The Spurs also have the most salary cap space available among NBA clubs in the latest round of free agency.

Another talented guard in a similar situation is Philadelphia's James Harden, a three-time NBA scoring champion who opted in on a one-year deal and also seeks a trade.

Lillard's requested move was revealed only hours after the start of NBA free agency for the 2023-24 season.

Talks were allowed to begin Friday but no contracts can be signed until next Thursday, leaving only unconfirmed reports to signal the flow of talent around the NBA as dozens of deals were said to have been agreed upon by clubs and available players.

Among those deals was Portland's pact with forward Jerami Grant on a five-year deal worth $160 million, ESPN and The Athletic said.

- Lopez stays with Bucks -

Fred VanVleet, a 29-year-old point guard who helped Toronto win the 2019 crown, is going to Houston on a three-year deal worth $130 million.

But center Brook Lopez has agreed to a two-year deal worth $48 million to stay with the Bucks. He was among Houston's reported targets.

The Bucks, the 2021 NBA champions, reportedly agreed to a three-year deal Friday with forward Khris Middleton.

Keeping both players should help ensure the Bucks also keep Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who could become a free agent in 2025.

Houston made a four-year deal worth $80 million with Canadian swingman Dillon Brooks, dropped by Memphis after calling LeBron James "old" before his Los Angeles Lakers beat Memphis in six games in the playoffs.

Houston also agreed to a four-year deal worth $32 million with center Jock Landle.

The Lakers will reportedly keep guard D'Angelo Russell on a two-year deal worth $37 million while the Clippers keep Russell Westbrook with a two-year deal.

Agence France-Presse

Nuggets close out Heat in thriller to clinch NBA title

DENVER  -- The Denver Nuggets sealed their first title in franchise history on Monday, defeating the Miami Heat 94-89 to end a 47-season wait for a maiden NBA championship.

Nikola Jokic scored 28 points with 16 rebounds as the Nuggets won the best-of-seven NBA Finals 4-1 to bring the Mile High City an NBA crown as a sellout crowd roared in delight and pondered what more the young squad could achieve.

"I've got news for everybody out there. We're not satisfied with one," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said afterwards. "We want more."

The championship filled the final gap in the impressive resume of Serbian star Jokic, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and five-time All-Star center in his eighth NBA campaign.

Two days after countryman Novak Djokovic won the French Open for his record 23rd Grand Slam tennis crown, Jokic was named the NBA Finals MVP.

"For us he's the best ever of course," Jokic said of Djokovic. "Now we have our NBA championship. It's a really good moment to be a Serbian."

Jokic delivered on a night when the team struggled with early shooting futility but blanked Miami for more than five minutes of the fourth quarter.

"It was amazing effort by the team," Jokic said. "It was an ugly game. We couldn't make shots. But at the end we figured it out, how to defend and we scored 90 points. That's why we won. I'm just happy we won the game.

"It's good. The job is done and we can go home now."

Michael Porter Jr. added 16 points and 13 rebounds and Jamal Murray added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets.

"We had the belief from the get-go," Murray said. "It's just great to see it through."

"To do it with this group of guys, nothing could feel better than this," Porter added.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 21 points while Bam Adebayo added 20 and 12 rebounds.

Denver was the playoff top seed in the Western Conference while the eighth-seeded Heat, who had to win a play-in game just to reach the playoffs, lost in the finals for the third time in 10 seasons.

"One hell of a basketball team that we couldn't really find enough solutions to be able to get us over the top," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

With their seasons on the line, players brought intensity and physical defending over the final minutes to create an electric atmosphere inside Ball Arena.

The Nuggets, down by as many as 10 points in the first half, pulled within 51-44 at half-time despite going 1-for-15 from 3-point range, the worst-ever NBA Finals shooting half from beyond the arc.

A Murray jumper gave Denver an 81-76 lead with 6:43 remaining while the Heat began the fourth quarter hitting only 2-for-14 from the floor and going scoreless for more than five minutes.

Butler, who had struggled all night, sank back-to-back 3-pointers and made three free throws after a controversial foul on Denver's Aaron Gordon was upheld on video review.

Butler and Jokic traded hoops and Butler followed with two free throws to give Miami an 89-88 lead.

Bruce Brown answered with a rebound basket to put Denver ahead 90-89.

"Those last three or four minutes felt like a scene out of a movie," Spoelstra said. "Two teams in the center of the ring throwing haymaker after haymaker.

"It will probably rank as our hardest, competitive, most active defensive game of the season, and it still fell short."

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stole a pass by Butler and sank two clutch free throws with 24 seconds remaining to give Denver a 92-89 edge.

"For me it was all about defense," Caldwell-Pope said. "We've got to get stops. Defense was going to win us a championship. I always told them that."

Butler missed a 3-pointer, Brown grabbed a rebound for Denver and then made two free throws to seal the victory with 14 seconds remaining.

Agence France-Presse

Nuggets must defy human nature to close out series: Malone

DENVER -- Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone knows the mind can play tricks on players when it comes to crunch time in the NBA Finals, so he's trying out some mental games himself.

His team needs one more win against the Miami Heat to secure their first NBA championship title, after Friday's victory in South Florida gave them a 3-1 lead in the series.

Back on home court Monday, the odds favor the Nuggets who in the last two games have had the measure of Miami in every department of the game.

The home crowd will turn up expecting a celebration and the pundits will talk of Denver needing to simply wrap-up the series but Malone knows that kind of mood spells danger.

"My biggest concern going into any close-out game is human nature and fighting against that," he told reporters.

"You're up 3-1. Most teams, when you're up 3-1, they come up for air. They relax and they just kind of take it for granted that, 'oh, we're going to win this,'" he said.

"The neat thing for us is that going back to the (Covid) bubble, we've been down 3-1. We've come back and won. We know anything is possible," he said.

Three years ago the Nuggets pulled off the relatively rare series comeback twice in the same post-season.

They overturned the Utah Jazz's 3-1 lead in the Western Conference first round and then did the same against the Los Angeles Clippers in the semi-finals.

So Malone has told his team to put themselves in Miami's shoes and play like a team who have to win to survive in the series.

"That's why my message to our team (on Sunday) was our approach has to be we are down 3-1. They are desperate; we have to be more desperate. They are hungry; we have to be hungrier," he said.

"There is no celebrating after Game 4. We have another game that we have to win, and the close-out game is always the hardest game ever," he said.

There have only been eleven other cases in the NBA of a team winning from a 3-1 deficit and only once has it occurred in the finals -- in 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers fought back against the Golden State Warriors.

At the same time, while demanding that hunger, Malone has been reminding his team that they must stick with the approach that has taken them to their first ever finals.

"Stay in the moment and once that jump ball goes up tomorrow night, our players, every possession, every moment of that game can't be (thinking) 'We have to win this game.'"

"We have to stay true to ourselves, trust what's gotten us to this point," he said.

"After game four in Miami, everybody was yelling, 'Just one more win.' Hey, let's just win the first quarter tomorrow night. Take it in small bites. And if you do that possession by possession, quarter by quarter, hopefully when 48 minutes are over, you've done what you needed to do."

That is a mindset that requires cool heads and luckily for Malone, his star man Luka Jokic is ice-cool.

Asked about how he and the team would handle the emotions of such a momentous game, Jokic was utterly on-brand.

"I think it's not going to be emotional," said the Serb.

"It's going to be a job that we need to do to be done. I think we are ready. I think we are going to be locked in and ready to go. It's just going to be a game that we need to win."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Gordon, Brown step up for Nuggets in Game 4 win over Heat

MIAMI -- Aaron Gordon scored a career playoff high 27 points in an all-out attack on the Miami Heat on Friday that helped push the Denver Nuggets to the brink of their first NBA championship.

Gordon led all scorers in the Nuggets' 108-95 victory over the Heat in Miami that put Denver up 3-1 in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

The player once known for his dunking prowess -- including runner-up finishes in the 2016 and 2020 All-Star weekend slam-dunk contests -- showed just how versatile he has become as he connected on 11 of 15 shots from the field -- including three of four from three-point range.

"Making threes, getting to the foul line, guarding at a high level -- Aaron did it all for us tonight, he really did," Nuggets coach Mike Malone said.

Gordon erupted for 15 points in the second quarter as the Nuggets -- who trailed by one after Jimmy Butler's three-pointer to close the first period -- took a 55-51 halftime lead.

"This team does a good job finding the people that are kind of in a rhythm and kind of going," Gordon said. "When it comes down to it, it's just wanting to be great for my teammates. I know when my teammates need me and just doing it for my brothers."

He made his first three attempts from three-point range -- including one from the corner that put Denver up 86-73 with five seconds left in the third quarter.

"I'm just taking the ones that they're giving me, taking the open shots," said Gordon, who was staring down the Heat bench before the ball had cleared the net.

"It's just gamesmanship," he said. "That's part of the game. When you make a three in the corner with the opposition's bench, you can have a little fun with them."

Teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope wasn't surprised to see a few long-range shots fall for Gordon -- he's given him some advice.

"I always tell AG, man, continue to play his game. When you're shooting threes, no up, no in, so make sure you get that ball up so it can go in. He did that tonight."

Gordon's big second quarter helped the Nuggets gain control even as Nikola Jokic shook off a twisted ankle.

When foul trouble sidelined Jokic for more than five minutes in the fourth, Bruce Brown took it to Miami.

Brown scored 21 points in 30 minutes off the bench, pouring in 11 in the final period as the Nuggets repelled every Heat run.

Miami had cut the deficit to eight when Brown converted a three-point play to push Denver's lead back to double digits.

His pull-up three-pointer with 1:21 remaining was the final dagger, giving Denver a 108-91 lead.

"We knew they were going to trap Jamal (Murray) and try to get the ball out of his hands, so the other four players were going to have to make plays, and then luckily it was just my time in the fourth quarter," Brown said.

Agence France-Presse

Jokic and Murray dominate as Nuggets take 2-1 lead over Miami

MIAMI, United States - Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray dominated the Miami Heat, both making triple doubles, as the Denver Nuggets took a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals and regained their home court advantage with a 109-94 win in game three on Wednesday.

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 32 points with 21 rebounds and 10 assists, an unprecedented triple-double combination in an NBA Finals game.

Murray scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

It was the first time any team in a Finals had two players making triple-doubles in the same game.

Miami simply could not find a way to handle the 6 foot, 11-inch (2.11m) Jokic and unless coach Erik Spoelstra can come up with a plan before Friday's game four, the Heat are going to face an uphill battle.

Jokic became the first player in NBA history to reach the 30 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists mark in a Finals game but took little interest in that achievement.

"To be honest, not much. I'm just glad that we won a game," he said.

"It was a big one for us just because they won in our arena, so we just didn’t want to go down 2-1," he added.

"We were just, I think, more locked in, more focused ... We've got to win the next one, that's our mindset."

After Miami's win in Denver on Sunday, the Nuggets provided the perfect response with the kind of imposing display that coach Michael Malone demanded, and which will have answered any doubts that may have emerged after that loss.

Neither team could get on top in the first quarter, which ended 24-24 after a wonderful turnaround, fadeaway, jump shot from Miami's Kyle Lowry.

But the Heat struggled to contain Murray, who put up 20 points in the first half, while Jokic almost had a triple double by half-time -- the giant Serbian claiming 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in the opening two quarters.

The Nuggets led 53-48 at the half, helped by Miami's lack of precision in the paint where they missed 16 of 25 attempts.

Early in the third though, Denver took a grip on the contest, quickly opening up an 11-point lead. Miami couldn't find either the defensive answers or the offensive potency to get back in the game.

Denver had pushed the lead to 21 with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter and although Miami narrowed the deficit as the Nuggets took their foot off the gas, a third straight loss on home court leaves Spoelstra with plenty to ponder.

Jimmy Butler led Miami with 28 points while Bam Adebayo had 22 points and 17 rebounds.

Agence France-Presse

Heat rally to beat Nuggets, level NBA Finals at 1-1

DENVER -- The Miami Heat handed the Denver Nuggets their first home defeat of the playoffs Sunday, surging in the fourth quarter for a 111-108 victory that leveled the NBA Finals at one game apiece.

Gabe Vincent scored 23 points and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo scored 21 points apiece for Miami, who withstood a 41-point performance from Nuggets star Nikola Jokic to get the split in Denver and breathe new life into the championship campaign.

In a game of swinging shifts of momentum, the Heat had the last word, rallying from a 15-point first-half deficit and out-scoring the Nuggets 36-25 in the final period as they silenced the crowd of 19,537 at Ball Arena.

Adebayo sealed it with a pair of free-throws with 48.3 seconds remaining.

"We know we've got to do it on the defensive end," Adebayo said of Miami's fourth-quarter focus. "That's the biggest thing for us. We got to do it on that end because we know we can score, all five guys we believe in. So the biggest thing for us was getting stops."

Denver had a last chance to tie it, but Jamal Murray missed a three-pointer.

"It was a good look, just didn't go down," said Murray, who scored 18 points and handed out 10 assists.

Miami, who came through two play-in games and are trying to become the first eighth-seeded team to win the title, host game three of the best-of-seven series on Wednesday.

"We gutted out one on their home court, so time to go back to the 305," Adebayo said referencing the Miami area code.

Miami, who were dominated in a game one defeat, vowed to step it up and they started strong, leading by 11 with less than five minutes to play in the first quarter.

The Nuggets battled back and were up by 15 in the second quarter on the way to a 57-51 halftime lead.

But Nuggets coach Michael Malone excoriated his team's lack of effort.

"This is NBA Finals, we are talking about effort; that's a huge concern of mine," Malone said. "Tonight, the starting lineup to start the game, it was 10-2 Miami. Start of the third quarter, they scored 11 points in two minutes and 10 seconds.

"We had guys out there that were just, whether feeling sorry for themselves for not making shots or thinking they can just turn it on or off, this is not the preseason, this is not the regular season.

"This is the NBA Finals. That to me is really, really perplexing, disappointing."

Certainly Denver's second-quarter turnaround owed plenty to their bench, which out-scored Miami's reserves 25-5 in the first half.

But it was two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic who asserted himself in the third, scoring 18 points in the period.

Jokic would finish with 11 rebounds but handed out just four assists and coughed up five turnovers as Miami's adjustments limited his effectiveness as a facilitator.

"We had a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding," Jokic said. "You just need to know where to be or what to do or what's the coverage or whatever."

- Moments of truth -

Miami tied it up at 66-66 midway through the third but didn't manage to get back in front and trailed by eight, 83-75 after Denver closed the third on a 6-0 run.

But the Heat opened the fourth on a 15-2 scoring run, taking the lead for the first time since the first quarter on Vincent's three-pointer with 10:10 to play and never trailing again.

After a disappointing shooting display in game one, the Heat connected on 17 of 35 from beyond the arc on Sunday.

Max Strus, who didn't score a basket in game one, led all scorers in the first half with 14 points.

They connected on 11 of their 16 attempts in the fourth quarter, including five of nine from three-point range.

"During the fourth quarter, our guys love to compete," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They love to put themselves out there in those moments of truth.

"Fortunately we were able to make a lot of big defensive plays down the stretch, and then we got a lot of contributions, which you're going to need against a team like this."

Agence France-Presse

Nuggets 'haven't done a damn thing' in NBA Finals, says coach

DENVER -- Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone told his players on Saturday that they "haven't done a damn thing" despite an opening-game romp over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets, led by 27 points from Nikola Jokic and 26 by Jamal Murray, ripped visiting Miami 104-93 on Thursday for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series ahead of Sunday's game two in Denver.

But Malone was not pleased about the opportunities the Nuggets allowed the Heat and urged players not to get swelled heads with pride over winning without playing their best.

"I told our players today, 'Don't read the paper, don't listen to the folks on the radio and TV saying that this series is over and that we've done something, because we haven't done a damn thing,'" Malone said.

"I told our players the reason I was excited this morning is because we won game one and we didn't play well and there are so many things we can do better. If we do those things at a better level, we'll have a chance to win game two."

Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic added 10 rebounds and 14 assists while Murray also contributed 10 assists as the Nuggets led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter before the Heat trimmed the margin in the final quarter.

"They were 5-of-16 on wide-open threes," Malone said of Miami's long-range shooting. "The fact they got 16 wide-open threes is problematic and if you think that Max Strus is going to go 0-for-9 again or Duncan Robinson is going to go 1-for-5 again, you're wrong.

"The fourth quarter, we gave up 30 points, 60% from the field, 6-of-12 from the three-point line.

"I thought our pick-and-roll defense was poor. I thought our shrink the floor was poor... There are so many areas we can clean up.

"I'm not worried about what they're going to do. I'm worried about the things that we have to do better to try to win game two."

Malone said he stressed tougher defending against Bam Adebayo, who led the Heat with 26 points.

"If you're going to score 26 points on 25 shots, that's something we're willing to live with," Malone said. "But we can do a better job. That's something we talked about, giving him different looks, making sure we're contesting, making sure we're shrinking the floor."

Malone is less concerned about making strategy adjustments than he is about matching what he expects will be a higher energy level from the Heat on Sunday.

"I expect the Miami Heat to come out with a much greater energy and force and attack mindset," he said.

- 'Going to be better' -

Serbian superstar Jokic said the Nuggets stumbled with their large fourth-quarter lead.

"In the first three quarters, they score (63) points. I think that's really amazing. And then they scored 30 in the fourth," Jokic said.

"Some possessions we play amazing and some possessions we didn't play good. Some quarters we played really good. That's basketball. That's why it's a live thing. You cannot predict what's going to happen.

"Of course we're going to be better, but we're going to take 1-0 for us. Just being focused for 48 minutes, I think that's going to be the key."

Denver forward Aaron Gordon, who scored 16 points in the opener, said the Nuggets can't relax on Miami even with a big lead.

"You just can't be complacent with this team," he said. "You can't be lackadaisical. You can't sleep on this team. This team has no quit. They will continue to fight through the entirety of the game. You can't take your foot off the gas with these guys.

"We need to cut down on the number of open looks that they get. Getting back in transition, keeping them off the offensive glass, and then just tightening up on the defensive end as well."

In a city thrilled about the Nuggets' first NBA Finals trip, the players must contain themselves.

"You have to keep a poise, like an intense energy but calm, while everybody else is really frenetic, " Gordon said. "It's important to just make the main thing the main thing and be focused on the task at hand."

Agence France-Presse

Nuggets dominate Heat in NBA Finals Game 1

DENVER — The Denver Nuggets launched their first NBA Finals campaign in franchise history with a dominant 104-93 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday, propelled by yet another Nikola Jokic triple double.

Two-time Most Valuable Player Jokic scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and 14 assists to lead the Nuggets, who will try to double their advantage in the best-of-seven series when they host Game 2 on Sunday.

Jamal Murray scored 26 points, handed out 10 assists and grabbed six rebounds for the Nuggets, who led by 24 points in the third quarter and repelled the resilient Heat's fourth quarter challenge.

"We respect their team a lot," Jokic said. "We just wanted to get the first punch.

"In the first three rounds they won their first game when they traveled on the road and we didn't want to have that to happen. I think we did a good job."

Bam Adebayo scored 26 points to lead Miami. Gabe Vincent added 19 and Haywood Highsmith scored 18 off the bench, but Heat star Jimmy Butler was limited to 13.

Trailing by 21 entering the fourth quarter, Miami used an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 10. Highsmith's three-pointer got the gap to nine points with 2:34 to play.

But as they had all night, the Nuggets seamlessly pulled away.

Jokic fed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a jump shot, Caldwell-Pope came up with a steal and Aaron Gordon made two free throws as the Nuggets rebuilt the lead.

Jokic added a pair of free throws and a turnaround jump shot and the ecstatic crowd of 19,528 at Ball Arena in Denver could start the celebrations.

"Everybody contributed," Jokic said. "It's a great win for us."

Jokic was content to play facilitator in the first quarter, handing out six assists as the Nuggets clicked quickly despite the 10-day gap since they finished off their sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals.

Gordon scored 12 points in the first quarter. Jokic didn't take a shot until the waning seconds of the period, when he stripped the ball from Cody Zeller and made a layup that put Denver up, 29-20, at the end of the period.

Meanwhile the Heat, who flew straight to Denver from Boston after finally polishing off the Celtics in game seven of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday, connected on just nine of their 26 attempts in the first quarter.

"They are in a pretty good rhythm, especially in that first half, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Our disposition, the multiple efforts, the resolve in the second half was much better.

"But you get to this level, it has to be complete games of that kind of disposition."

Any way possible 

Denver kept up the relentless pace in the second quarter, Murray scoring 10 points in the period as the Nuggets connected on 60% of their shots.

Four Denver players scored in double figures in the first half. Adebayo had 16 before the break for Miami, but Caleb Martin went 0-for-5 and Max Strus 0-for-7.

Not only were the Heat unable to convert the good looks they had, they couldn't stop the Nuggets inside. Denver out-scored Miami 32-18 in the paint in the first half.

Jokic's 10 points and 10 assists before the break made him the only player besides LeBron James in the past 25 years to reach double digits in both categories in any half of an NBA Finals game.

He posted his 15th playoff triple double with his 10th rebound in the fourth quarter.

The Heat quickly sliced the deficit to 10 points to open the third quarter, but Denver had the answer to every adjustment they made.

"Right now the most important thing is to win a game," Jokic said. "We're trying to win a game any way possible. I don't need to shoot, I don't need to score to affect the game. I think I did a good job today.

Agence France-Presse

Title-hungry Nuggets face odds-defying Heat in NBA Finals

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 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.

The best-of-seven championship series begins Thursday 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 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% 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 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 2021-22 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.

"When we're just playing the right way, everything opens up," Murray said. "Everybody eats when we're all playing for each other and we've been doing that for a while. We're just in a great rhythm of playing unselfish basketball."

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 an 0-3 hole.

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

"Things don't always go your way. The inevitable setbacks happen and it's how you deal with that collectively. It can sap your spirit. It can take a team down for whatever reason. With this group, it has steeled us and made us closer and made us tougher."

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.

"Nobody is satisfied," he said. "We haven't done anything. We don't play just to win the Eastern Conference. We play to win the whole thing."

And being a huge underdog in the finals is just how Adebayo wants it.

"When you go through what we went through this whole season, people writing us off, to be four games from a championship just speaks volume to, one, we never quit, and two, everybody rallied together," he said.

Agence France-Presse

Heat rout Celtics to book NBA Finals showdown with Denver

BOSTON -- Jimmy Butler played a starring role as the Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals by routing Boston 103-84 on Monday, denying the Celtics a historic comeback after trailing the playoff series 3-0.

Butler had 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Caleb Martin added 26 points and 10 rebounds to spark Miami, which will visit Denver on Thursday to begin the best-of-seven championship final.

Miami recovered from a gut-punch of a game-six defeat, where they fell on a last-second tip-in, to win the Eastern Conference final 4-3, silencing a loud Boston crowd.

Taking full advantage of an injury to Boston star Jayson Tatum in the opening seconds and a cold-shooting Celtics start, the Heat avoided becoming the first team in 151 attempts to lose a playoff series after leading 3-0.

"We stayed together as a group," Butler said. "We talked about going to get a tough one on the road and we did just that.

"But we're not satisfied. We're happy. We're ecstatic. But we've got one more to get."

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said he never doubted his resilient squad could win game seven.

"Sometimes you have to suffer for the things you really want," he said. "This group has shown fortitude when there are inevitable let-downs and failures, but had that perseverance to pick yourself up, that collective spirit to keep on forging ahead."

The Heat, seeking a fourth NBA title and first since 2013, last reached the NBA Finals in 2020, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nuggets, into the NBA Finals for the first time, swept the Lakers in the Western Conference final.

It was a determined effort by a Miami squad that lost to Boston in seven games in last year's East finals. Miami also lacked any momentum after squandering their 3-0 edge to set up a winner-takes-all road game.

"When the ship gets rocky, just stay together and keep believing in one another," said Miami's Bam Adebayo, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Spoelstra said last year's loss had weighed on the team. "They made us get better. We thought about it all season long," he said.

Butler said his teammates enabled him to sink key shots and shut down Boston comeback bids.

"They give me so much confidence to hoop at a high level," he said. "They're the reason we're here. I know how good a team we are and we made it happen."

- 'A shell of myself' -

Tatum, who finished with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, turned his left ankle landing awkwardly after a baseline jumper in the opening seconds. He grimaced often and took only one shot in the first 17 minutes.

"It swelled up," Tatum said. "I was like a shell of myself. It was tough to move. It was frustrating especially that it should happen on the first play."

Miami stretched the lead as high as 17 points in the second quarter but Boston pulled within 59-51 early in the third.

Caleb Martin sank a baseline jumper to put Miami ahead 76-66 entering the fourth. Martin sank a three-pointer to ignite a 7-0 Miami run to open the fourth quarter for an 83-66 edge.

"Not shooting the ball well had an effect on us," Tatum said. "And it kind of snowballed."

The Celtics went nearly four minutes without scoring and never again threatened, finishing a woeful 9-of-42 from three-point range.

"They gave it everything they had," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. "That's the most important thing to take from this. We failed, but it's not because the guys didn't have a sense of togetherness and character."

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 19 points but had a career-high eight turnovers while Derrick White added 18 points.

"We failed. I failed," Brown said. "We let the whole city down."

An 18-6 Heat run to close the first quarter gave Miami a 22-15 lead with the Celtics matching their season low for first-quarter points.

Boston went 0-for-10 from three-point range in the first quarter, missing the first 12 from beyond the arc overall, and made only 6-of-23 from the floor in the opening period.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Buzzer-beating Boston force Miami to game seven

MIAMI  -- With a dramatic buzzer-beater from Derrick White, the Boston Celtics forced their NBA Eastern Conference Finals series with the Miami Heat to a winner-take-all game seven in a heart-stopping 104-103 win in South Florida on Saturday.

The Celtics became just the fourth team in NBA history to level a best-of-seven playoff series after trailing 3-0.

They will now have a chance on Monday to mark an even more impressive milestone if they can become the first team to win a series after losing the opening three games and earn a place in the final against the Denver Nuggets.

It was a crushing loss for Miami, who were less than a second away from reaching their seventh NBA Final before White's inspired touch.

The Celtics had led for most of the contest but Miami looked to have grabbed the win and the series when Jimmy Butler was fouled, attempting a three-point shot, by Boston's Al Horford.

With three seconds left on the clock, Butler, who had been well below-par until he came alive late in the fourth quarter, kept his cool to sink all three free throws and give the Heat a 103-102 lead.

Facing elimination, Marcus Smart's three-point attempt bounced off the rim, but White was alert and strong to tip the rebound into the bucket, the shot leaving his fingertips only a fraction of a second before the buzzer.

The Miami crowd were distraught as the Celtics celebrated in a huddle on the court.

"Ball came to me, I made the shot. That's what I saw," said White, reflecting on the game-winning moment.

"It felt good. Everybody was asking me, 'did you get it off?' And I was like, 'yeah, I think so,' but it was so close, you never know," he said.

"I'm happy we won. Whatever it takes. We got our backs against the wall. Just happy we won."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra rued his team's luck on the decisive final play.

"That thing just bounced a different way. That's the only place it could have bounced to hurt us. I thought we had a lot of things covered on that play and sometimes things just don't break your way," he said.

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 31 points and had 11 rebounds and five assists, while Jaylen Brown came up with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Butler went into the fourth quarter with just nine points but ended with 24, while Caleb Martin provided 21 points for Miami.

Butler shot just 5-of-21 and took responsibility for Miami's situation.

"I told the guys in the locker room, if I play better we are not even in this position," said Butler, who vowed to be back to his best in game seven.

- 'To hell and back' -

The Celtics had led by 11 points midway through the second quarter as Miami struggled at both ends of the court, but the Heat rallied to reduce the deficit to 57-53 at half-time.

Boston opened up another double-figure lead in the third, but once more couldn't quite shrug off Miami, and the Heat found a way to grab the lead with a Butler tip lay-up making it 83-82 with 7:57 left in the fourth.

But the Celtics responded strongly with a 16-5 run before the late drama began to unfold, with Butler scoring 10 points to give Miami the lead with three seconds to go.

Butler was philosophical in defeat.

"That's basketball for you. Basketball at its finest. Very, very, very entertaining," he said.

"We can do it. I know that we will do it. We've got to go on the road and win in a very, very, very tough environment. But we are capable of it. So let's get busy."

The momentum is clearly with Boston after yet again roaring back from a possible exit.

"It gives you a supreme boost in confidence, man. It doesn't get too much worse than being down 0-3. We feel like we've been to hell and back," said Brown.

"We feel like we can face any adversity that gets thrown at us in the duration of the game or the duration of the season or in the postseason. It all means nothing if we don't come out and give our best effort on our home floor on Monday night."

Agence France-Presse

Celtics pummel Heat to keep NBA title hopes alive

Boston poured in 16 three-pointers in a dominant 110-97 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday that kept the Celtics alive in the NBA championship chase.

For the second straight game, the Celtics fended off elimination, cutting the deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals to 3-2 with the wire-to-wire triumph.

Miami will try again to close it out when they host game six on Saturday. The Celtics will be trying to take one more step toward becoming the first NBA team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series.

"The only thing that can stop us is us," Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said in an on-court interview.

Before a rapturous, raucous crowd at TD Garden in Boston, the Celtics looked every inch the favorites they were before the series started -- before the upstart eighth-seeded Heat grabbed the first two games in Boston then embarrassed the second seeds in game three.

Four Celtics starters scored more than 20 points, Derrick White leading the way with 24 on a night when he made six of eight attempts from three-point range.

Marcus Smart added 23 while Brown and fellow star forward Jayson Tatum scored 21 apiece.

More importantly, the Celtics harried the Heat into 16 turnovers that led to 27 Boston points and they had 17 second-chance points compared to Miami's seven.

"Tonight we were the tougher playing team," Brown said. "We set the tone from start to finish."

Boston were locked in on both ends of the floor from the opening tip-off, roaring to a 23-7 lead in a matter of minutes.

After Tatum was whistled for a technical foul with 8:43 in the first quarter the Celtics responded with three consecutive three-pointers.

Tatum scored 12 points in the first quarter and Brown took over with 12 in the second.

Meanwhile Heat talisman Jimmy Butler struggled to get going, scoring eight points in the first half and finishing with 14 -- his lowest scoring game of the playoffs. He sat out most of the fourth quarter.

Duncan Robinson led the Heat with 18 points off the bench. Bam Adebayo scored 16 points but coughed up six turnovers.

Kyle Lowry starting at point guard after Gabe Vincent was ruled out with a sprained ankle, scored five points with four turnovers.

The Heat, who won the NBA title in 2006, 2012 and 2013, still only need one more win to reach a seventh NBA Finals.

Boston, whose 17 NBA titles are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in history, last won it all in 2008 and came up short in last season's championship series against the Golden State Warriors.

The winners of the series will play the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets, who swept the Lakers in four games to reach the NBA Finals for the first time.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Butler brilliance as Miami stuns Boston

LOS ANGELES  -- Jimmy Butler led a fourth-quarter fightback as the Miami Heat stunned the Boston Celtics 111-105 to take a 2-0 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference finals series on Friday.

Miami talisman Butler finished with 27 points as the eighth seeds grabbed a second straight victory at Boston's TD Garden to leave the Celtics with a mountain to climb if they are to reach the NBA finals.

Miami had trailed by 11 points early in the fourth quarter and the Celtics led by as much as nine with under seven minutes of the final frame remaining.

But Butler led a sensational 20-9 Miami run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter that turned the game on its head and left his team just two wins away from returning to the NBA finals as the best-of-seven series heads to Miami for games three and four.

"We got some dogs, and I love it, I love every bit of it," an elated Butler said during an on-court interview after the Miami win.

"Guys never quit, guys never give up, we love playing with one another -- we got so much faith and trust in one another."

Nine of Butler's 27 points came during the fourth-quarter rally, with the Miami star fired up after an angry nose-to-nose exchange with Boston's Grant Williams midway through the fourth quarter.

At that stage in the game, Boston led 96-89, but Miami launched a devastating late run that turned the contest decisively in favor of the Heat.

Butler later admitted that Williams' apparent taunts had fueled his inspired late contribution.

"Yes, it did," Butler replied when asked if he had been motivated by Williams' trash-talk.

"But that's just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot. Started talking to me; I like that. I'm all for that. It makes me key in a lot more. It pushes that will that I have to win a lot more.

"It makes me smile. It does. When people talk to me, I'm like, 'Okay, I know I'm a decent player, if you want to talk to me out of everybody that you can talk to.'

"But it's just competition. I do respect him, though. He's a big part of what they try to do. I just don't know if I'm the best person to talk to."

 - 'Beauty in the struggle' -

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said his team's battling, never-say-die approach had been forged through the challenges of the regular season when they only just scraped into the playoffs.

"This year was really unique for all of us," Spoelstra said. "There's a beauty in the struggle. There's a beauty in that grind."

Butler received offensive support from Caleb Martin, with 25 points off the bench, while Bam Adebayo delivered another all-round effort with 22 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists.

Duncan Robinson added 15 points from the bench, including three three-pointers.

A shell-shocked Boston, meanwhile, were left reflecting on another shattering defeat at home despite 34 points from Jayson Tatum.

Jaylen Brown finished with 16 points but had a wayward shooting night, making only seven of 23 from the field, while Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon had 13 points apiece.

Boston coach Joe Mazzulla blamed indiscipline and mental frailty for his team's defeat.

"It comes down to the details and the margins," Mazzulla said.

"This is a series of discipline and mindset. And there were times throughout the game where we weren't the more disciplined team."

Asked if he believed Boston's late collapse was "mental", Mazzulla agreed.

"It's mental from the standpoint of who can make the right plays at the right times, who can make the simple plays, who can win those details and those margins," Mazzulla said. "So, yeah, it's definitely mental."

Tatum, meanwhile, insisted that all was not lost despite Boston dropping the opening two games of the series on their home court.

"It's tough. It's a challenge. No point in being up here sad, right. They came in and won two games," Tatum said.

"They played well, you give them credit. But we're not dead or anything. I still have the utmost confidence, everybody has the utmost confidence."

Game 3 takes place in Miami on Sunday.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Curry hits 50 as Warriors advance, Butler hurt in Heat win

NEW YORK  -- Stephen Curry scored 50 points in a record-shattering performance Sunday to send the defending champion Golden State Warriors into the second round of the NBA playoffs while a Jimmy Butler ankle injury raised tensions for the triumphant Miami Heat.

Curry, a four-time NBA champion and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, was nearly unstoppable as the Warriors won 120-100 at Sacramento to capture their best-of-seven Western Conference series 4-3.

"I just wanted to come out and look for shots early, get my teammates going throughout the game," Curry said. "But when I'm looking for shots, it usually works in our favor."

The 35-year-old guard delivered an incredible performance, hitting 20 of a career-high 38 shot attempts and going 7-of-18 from 3-point range and 3-of-5 from the free throw line.

"It was about being aggressive," Curry said. "I got 38 shots for a reason. We started to see where the holes were and I could be ultra aggressive and it worked."

Curry also added eight rebounds and six assists.

"Steph was elite. He put these guys on his back and said, 'We're not losing,'" Kings coach Mike Brown said. "Give Steph a ton of credit for doing exactly what he's supposed to do. Heck of a performance."

Curry's 50 points were a career playoff high and the most points in any NBA game seven -- breaking the old mark of 48 set by Kevin Durant for Brooklyn in a 2021 loss to Milwaukee.

"What an incredible all-time performance," Curry's backcourt teammate Klay Thompson said. "This is a game seven I'll forever remember as the Steph Curry game."

The Warriors next face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a Western Conference semi-final matchup starting on Tuesday. Golden State faced a James-led Cleveland in four straight NBA Finals, winning three of them.

"It's special from the first series we played him in Cleveland," Curry said. "We're blessed to be playing at this level still and excited about a new chapter."

In Sunday's other playoff contest, Butler scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Miami over the host New York Knicks 108-101 in their Eastern Conference second-round opener but suffered a right ankle injury.

The series continues Tuesday at New York but Butler's status will steal the spotlight until then.

"No idea," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "You just don't know with ankle sprains. I don't even know if we will know more by tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see. It will be a waiting game."

Asked how the ankle felt, Butler said, "Like a rolled ankle."

At Sacramento, the Kings had no answer for Curry in the winner-take-all battle. After 20 first-half points, he pressed the attack in the third quarter as the Warriors pulled away along with Kevon Looney, who grabbed 21 rebounds.

"It's huge for us," Curry said. "In each series he makes an impact. It's not loud. It's all the dirty work and we love him for it."

Thompson completed a four-point play with 1.4 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give Golden State a 91-81 edge entering the fourth. The Warriors stretched the lead to 104-83 with 6:30 remaining and cruised from there.

Domantas Sabonis led the Kings with 22 points but had only six in the second half.

- Heat sizzle late -

There was an intense atmosphere at Madison Square Garden, which had not seen a second-round playoff contest since 2013.

The game and Butler's ankle turned when Butler fell to the court with the Heat up 95-92 and 5:05 to play.

As Butler planted his right foot to drive to the basket, falling Knicks defender Josh Hart's foot struck Butler's foot. Butler limped to the bench but returned to make two free throws and remained in the game.

"He did not want to come out of the game so we left him in," Spoelstra said.

Often standing in a corner far from the run of play, Butler was largely stationary.

"Find a way to win," Butler said of his reason for staying on the court. "Be out there. Be a presence. I didn't do too much except airball a three. But I'll take the dub (W)."

Butler's teammates stepped up. Gabe Vincent made a 3-pointer and Bam Adebayo and reserve Kyle Lowry, who scored 12 of his 18 in the second half, added hoops in a pivotal 7-0 run for a 104-94 Miami edge.

Agence France-Presse

Celtics beat Heat, advance to face Warriors in NBA Finals

MIAMI -- The Boston Celtics, led by 26 points from Jayson Tatum, advanced to the NBA Finals by defeating Miami, 100-96, on Sunday, setting up a showdown against the Golden State Warriors.

Boston captured the winner-take-all matchup to take the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals 4-3 and secure a place in the championship series, which begins Thursday in San Francisco.

The Celtics, who eliminated 2021 NBA champion Milwaukee in a seventh game earlier this month, held off the Heat down the stretch to advance after losing the conference finals three times in the past five seasons.

"To get over the hump with this group, it means everything," Tatum said. "Not a lot of people believed in us, but it worked out."

Tatum, who also had 10 rebounds and six assists, was named the Eastern Conference Most Valuable Player after what he called the biggest game of his career.

Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown each added 24 points for Boston while Jimmy Butler led Miami with 35 points in a losing cause.

Boston veteran center Al Horford reached his first NBA Finals at age 35.

"This group is special," he said. "I'm happy to be sharing this moment with these guys."

Golden State split two games with the Celtics in the regular season, winning, 111-107, in December at Boston and losing, 110-88, in March at San Francisco.

The Celtics reached the NBA Finals for the first time since losing the 2010 title to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics haven't won the NBA crown since 2008.

The Warriors, in the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight years, seek their fourth title in that span and the first since 2018.

Smart had six points in a 10-1 spurt by Boston for a 65-52 Celtics lead early in the third quarter, but a 7-0 Heat run soon after pulled Miami within 72-65 and the Celtics carried an 82-75 lead into the final quarter.

An 8-0 Celtics spurt early in the fourth quarter lifted Boston ahead 90-79, the Heat missing nine shots in a row during the futility run.

Max Strus sank a three-pointer to close an 11-0 Miami run and lift the Heat within 98-96 in the dying seconds, but Smart hit two free throws to produce the final margin and the Celtics kept Miami at bay from there.

"We figured it out," Brown said. "We persevered. We got the job done."

Boston jumped ahead 20-7 and led by as much as 34-17 early in the second quarter, but the Heat closed the second quarter on an 11-2 run to pull within 55-49 at half-time.

Butler scored 24 points in the first half while Brown had 15 and Tatum 13 to lead the Celtics.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Tatum stars as Celtics rout Heat to square series

BOSTON -- Jayson Tatum rediscovered his scoring touch with 31 points as the Boston Celtics thrashed the Miami Heat 102-82 to level their NBA Eastern Conference finals series on Monday.

Two days after dropping their opening home game of the best-of-seven finals, Boston came roaring back at the TD Garden with a one-sided game four blowout that squares the series at 2-2.

Tatum also finished with eight rebounds and five assists, with support coming from Payton Pritchard (14 points) and Derrick White (13). Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams added 12 points apiece.

Al Horford led a hard-nosed Boston defensive effort with 13 rebounds and four blocks.

Victor Oladipo led the scoring for Miami with 23 points from the bench. 

None of Miami's starting line-up made double figures, making a paltry 18 points in total.

"We just came and redeemed ourselves," Tatum said. 

"We knew this was a game that we really needed, to protect home court. After the last game we were just ready to play, to get back out here and play better.

"It's been a back and forth series so far. It's best of three now, we'll just go away now for game five and get ready."

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said his team had never been able to recover from a poor start.

"They came out and jumped on us," Spoelstra said. "I think more than anything our offense hurt us at the beginning. We just weren't purposeful. 

"But we're not making any excuses. They outplayed us tonight for sure. We never could get any kind of a grip on the game."

- Highs and lows -

Spoelstra insisted that his team would mount a response in game five.

"This is part of the playoffs. There's a lot of extreme highs and extreme lows, and a lot of emotion," said Spoelstra. "You just have to stay the course and stay together.

"And it's a great series. You have to embrace that."

The game was effectively won in the first two quarters as Boston punished a strangely subdued start by Miami to race into a 29-11 lead in the first quarter.

Tatum, who had been restricted to just 10 points in Saturday's game three defeat, was back to his sharp-shooting best with 12 points in the first quarter alone.

With Miami's offense unable to penetrate a Boston defense bolstered by the return of Williams, the Celtics kept the pressure on in the second quarter, extending the lead to 27 points at one stage.

There was no better illustration of Miami's offensive impotence than the first-half points haul of their starting line-up.

With Jimmy Butler contributing just six points, the Heat's starters totalled 10 points in the first half, with only Oladipo's 18 points off the bench preventing a total humiliation.

Miami made just 11-of-40 attempts from the field in the first half, a shooting percentage of just 27.5 percent.

Any hopes Miami had of mounting a second-half fightback were quickly snuffed out in the third quarter. 

Boston outscored the Heat 12-4 immediately after the interval to pull clear by a whopping 32 points with the lead at 69-37.

The departure of Williams with what appeared to be left knee soreness midway through the third quarter helped Miami reduce the deficit to 23 points at 73-50, but it was only a temporary reprieve.

Boston continued to score steadily at the start of the fourth quarter and were sitting on a 31-point lead at 88-57 with just under nine minutes remaining before closing out a wire-to-wire win.

The series now swings back to Florida, with top seeds Miami hosting game five on Wednesday. 

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Tatum scorches Heat as Celtics square series

MIAMI -- Jayson Tatum scored 27 points as the Boston Celtics roared back to level the NBA Eastern Conference finals series with a 127-102 thrashing of the Miami Heat in Game 2 on Thursday.

Bolstered by the return of Marcus Smart and Al Horford, who both missed Tuesday’s 118-107 game one drubbing, Boston were a team transformed as they squared the best-of-seven series 1-1.

Boston made only 11-of-34 from three-point range in Tuesday’s lopsided opener, when Miami out-hustled them to claim a decisive victory.

But the Celtics shrugged off that misfiring performance in emphatic fashion, draining 20-of-40 from beyond the arc to overwhelm Miami.

Tatum led the scorers but there were huge contributions throughout the Celtics lineup. 

Smart finished with 24 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, while Jaylen Brown also posted 24 points, including 12 from three-point range.

Grant Williams added 19 from the bench, while Horford and Payton Pritchard had 10 points each.

Jimmy Butler led the Miami scoring with 29 points but only three other Heat players made double figures.

Celtics coach Ime Udoka said the return of Smart and Horford had been decisive.

"It was great to have them back, they're a calming presence," Udoka said. "I don't think we played as poorly as the last game suggested. We won three quarters of that game but we saw a lot of positives and areas that we could attack."

Smart admitted he had found it hard to sit out game one with a foot injury.

"I felt bad that I couldn't be out there with my team-mates going to battle with them," Smart said. "We're playing a really good Miami team and it's a blessing to be on the same court going to war. It was tough having to watch it."

'They embarrassed us'

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said his team had expected a Boston backlash.

"I'm sure they weren't happy about us putting up 118 against them in game one," Spoelstra said.

"When you get to this stage of the conference finals, you just have very good teams, teams without many weaknesses. 

"It's great competition. But this only counts as one game. We don't like it. We just have to figure some things out."

Butler said he hoped the defeat would motivate Miami for Game 3.

"They tried to embarrass us, and they did embarrass us," Butler said.

A wild first quarter saw Miami pick up where they left off in game one, with Max Strus hitting back-to-back three-pointers to leave the Heat ahead by 10 points at 18-8.

But Boston produced a scintillating 17-0 run to turn the quarter on its head, with their long-range shooting vastly improved.

Brown knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the first period to leave the Celtics up by 35-24 heading into the second quarter.

The Celtics' shooting clinic continued in the second quarter, with Pritchard nailing a 26-foot three-pointer to put Boston 19 points clear at 47-28 midway through the period.

A Tatum three-pointer and two free throws soon afterwards left Boston 27 points clear at 64-37 and shortly afterwards the Celtics had built a 29-point lead when Grant Williams' driving layup made it 68-39.

Smart put the seal on a devastating first-half display with a pullup jump shot to make it 70-45 at half-time.

Miami rallied late in the third quarter and cut the Boston lead to 17 points at one stage, but the Celtics regrouped and again pulled away.

A three-pointer from Tatum took them 25 points clear in the closing seconds of the third quarter at 94-69, a lead which they held going into the final quarter.

Smart made it a 30-point lead early in the fourth, bamboozling the Miami defense to drain a superb stepback three-pointer from 26 feet as Boston closed out a brutal victory.

Game three in the series takes place in Boston on Saturday, and Smart is expecting a stiff Miami response.

"The number one and number two teams going at it, it’s a grind," Smart said. 

"We know they’re coming to our house trying to get a win. We've got to protect our home court."

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Jimmy Butler scores 27 as Heat use big third quarter to beat Hornets

Jimmy Butler poured in 27 points and the Miami Heat used a tremendous third quarter to produce a 104-86 victory over the host Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.

Bam Adebayo supplied 20 points and 12 rebounds as Miami controlled the play in the lane for much of the second half.

The Heat trailed 51-46 at halftime, but cranked out a 35-8 edge in the third quarter. Butler had nine points in the quarter.

Tyler Herro added 19 points for Miami, which has won back-to-back games following a three-game skid.

The Hornets lost their fourth consecutive game, including the second one in two nights at home. Charlotte dropped to 14-10 at home.

Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 16 points, while Miles Bridges had 15 points and LaMelo Ball provided 12 points. Gordon Hayward, who was in his second game back following an ankle injury, was scoreless in 22 minutes, missing all seven of his shots from the floor.

The Hornets' 3-point shooting was spotty, going 10-for-36. Super sub Kelly Oubre Jr. struggled by going 3-for-15 from the field (1-for-9 on 3s).

Butler made 10 of 13 shots from the field. The Heat's efficiency for parts of the second half helped overcome the team's 11-for-32 shooting on 3-pointers for the game. Miami also was 17-for-18 on free throws.

The Hornets had good moments in the second quarter, when Miami was limited to 15 points. The Heat connected on only two shots from the field in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the first half.

The Heat led 31-23 before going cold.

Miami was in its fourth game of a six-game road swing, now 2-2 in those games. The Heat had Kyle Lowry back for his second game after a nine-game absence because of a personal issue, and he turned in nine points.

Twin brothers Caleb Martin of Miami and Cody Martin of Charlotte both scored eight points in reserve roles.

-reuters-

NBA: Nikola Jokic leads Nuggets past short-handed Heat

Reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic returned from a four-game injury absence to account for 24 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and a team-high seven assists as the Denver Nuggets defeated the host Miami Heat 120-111 on Monday night.

Denver shot 58.1 percent from the floor, including 18-for-35 on three-pointers (51.4 percent).

Jokic, who had been out with a sprained right wrist, made 9 of 14 shots from the floor and 5 of 6 on free throws as Denver snapped a season-worst six-game losing streak.

Aaron Gordon added 20 points for the Nuggets (10-10), who improved to 3-6 on the road. Bones Hyland came in off the bench and scored 19 points on 5-for-8 three-point shooting.

This was the first game played between these teams since the host Nuggets beat Miami on Nov. 8. Jokic and Miami's Markieff Morris were involved in a skirmish in that game. Morris (neck injury) has yet to play as a result of that altercation, and Jokic was booed throughout Monday's game.

Miami played without its top two scorers on Monday: Jimmy Butler (tailbone contusion) and Tyler Herro (body soreness). Those two are combining this season for 45.4 points per game.

Bam Adebayo led Miami with 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Kyle Lowry added 17 points and a game-high 14 assists for the Heat (13-8), who fell to 6-3 at home.

For Denver, Jamal Murray (knee) and Michael Porter Jr. (back) remained out. The Nuggets announced on Monday that Porter will have his third back surgery on Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season.

Denver led 32-23 after the first quarter as the Nuggets shot 57.9 percent, and Miami was held to 37.5 percent. Adebayo went scoreless, but Jokic had nine points on perfect shooting: 3-for-3 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the foul line.

The Nuggets stretched their lead to 63-43 at halftime, shooting 61.1 percent from the floor for the opening 24 minutes, including 7-for-15 on three-pointers (46.7 percent). Miami missed 16 of its final 18 first-half three-pointers.

Jokic led all first-half scorers with 17 points, and Hyland was next with 13.

In the third quarter, Miami cut its deficit to 95-78, although Denver's Facundo Campazzo made a deep three-pointer with just 1.6 seconds left before the buzzer, and the Heat were never able to make a run in the fourth.

-reuters-