Gameday Rundown

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Miami HEAT

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Gameday Rundown: HEAT Return Home For Noche Latina

Ball Arena - Denver, COMonday, June 12 @ 8:30 PMTV: ABCRadio: WQAM 560&nbsp;-&nbsp;WRTO MIX 98.3 FM

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Game 1: In the first games of both the New York and Boston series, Miami gave up 40-plus points in the paint. Almost immediately after those halftimes, they made their adjustments and cleaned things up in that area.

Similar story tonight against Denver, with the Nuggets scoring 32 in the paint on to of a 129.5 Offensive Rating to lead 59-42 at the break – only an 8-of-13 start from Bam Adebayo keeping things from getting out of hand – but the similarities ended at the numbers. Where the Knicks and Celtics were paint assaulting teams, driving relentlessly to get to the rim, very few of Denver’s early paint buckets came off a north-south dribble. Instead, it was all paint seals and post-ups, including six early makes at the cup from Aaron Gordon. Miami had missed some good looks from three at that point – though they were 5-of-10 from mid-range – but with Denver attempting double the number of shots in the restricted area, none of which came in transition, they were showcasing a stronger offensive foundation to that point. No huge surprise that maybe ethe best home team in the postseason, one that had plenty of time to rest and recuperate before the series began, was dictating the rhythm of the game, but the ball was certainly in Miami’s court at halftime to figure a few things out.

So of course Miami started the second half on an 8-0 run, because that’s what they’ve done all postseason. Get hit in the mouth, take a breath, and respond. But the Nuggets are not a team that gets rattled. They might miss shots for stretches, they just don’t lose their nerve. And so the lead hovered around 15, Miami still getting a ton of mileage out of their bread-and-butter Adebayo actions, Denver keeping pace with their two-man game between Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic. A few Adebayo-rest minutes later, it was Denver, looking more comfortable than the HEAT would want, by 21 headed into the fourth.

Another 11-0 burst to open the final period, with Denver missing in the paint and Miami throwing out a small dose of zone, to bring it back to 10. Miami still refusing to go away, as always, suddenly getting hot from three thanks to Kyle Lowry. Then, more Jokic, back to 16 with seven to play. That could have been the game, but of course Miami wasn’t done, again finding their way to easy scores – a constant in all their postseason comeback bids – to bring it back to nine. But, again, Jokic (27 points on 12 shots to go with 14 assists) was there to close it out, 104-93 for Denver – the HEAT finishing with the better three-point night overall despite their earlier misses – as the home team throws the first hit. But now these teams know each other better, and it’s Miami’s turn to adjust.

Game 2: Miami couldn’t have asked for a better start.

They were playing with pace. They were turning Denver over. They were inducing defensive miscommunications and Max Strus was hot from three. For the first time in the series, it felt like the HEAT were in control. And yet, as good as everything looked, they led by only three after the opening period. They hadn’t taken a single shot in the restricted area.

Denver almost always gives Nikola Jokic a rest at the beginning of the second quarter and their bench tends to leak points. That wasn’t the case tonight. With Miami zoning Denver’s second unit, Denver hit three after three after three, using a ton of ball pressure to jam up the HEAT’s perimeter actions and get out into transition – all of it adding up to a 21-6 run to open the second quarter, eventually leading by as much as 15. The only thing keeping the HEAT close was that they continued to hit nearly half their threes. But just as they did in Game 1, Miami mitigated the damage. It took a lot of mid-range work – Gabe Vincent was 5-of-7 in the half – with precious little going towards the rim but being down just six at the break was a best-case scenario given Denver’s extended run.

Good thing Miami was doing that thing again, that thing they’ve done more than all but one team in the entire history of the league in a single postseason run – hit half of their three-point attempts. Opening the third period with three hits from deep, two from Vincent, Miami was already back within two. Soon enough, tied. Denver’s offense just kept plugging along, as they do, though the HEAT got some mileage out of helping on Jokic during this stretch, forcing under-duress passes – and a turnover or two – even as Jokic found the open man. That didn’t last long. Back to Denver by eight headed into the fourth as Miami could not afford to give Bam Adebayo (21 points on 14 shots, +17) even a minute of rest. Still within striking distance, but the threes would need to be there given the lack of action at the rim.&nbsp;

Sure enough, Duncan Robinson opened the fourth with a three, and next time he touched the ball Denver so overplayed in he jogged to the rim for a layup – followed by another three off his own missed free-throw. Deficit back to two. Another Vincent corner three, a 13-2 run to open the quarter, and Miami jumped out in front. Where it looked like they would stay, shots continuing to fall in bunches and Denver’s defense unraveling as a result – leading to the downhill lanes finally opening up. But the Nuggets had one last push in them, going from down 11 to just three in the final minutes. In the end, it was a Jamal Murray stepback three bouncing off the rim, 111-108 as the HEAT tie the series up headed home.

Game 3: For the first time in this series, the first half played out on Miami’s terms.

Figures given the change in location, but the pace and level of physicality fit exactly how the HEAT want to play. It may have cost them some whistles along the way, but that’s the price you pay for establishing an aggressive, contact-filled baseline of play. Both Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler – as aggressive early as he’s been since Milwaukee, only with Denver bringing more help than those Bucks – were getting downhill, attempting 19 first-half shots in the paint and routinely going right into the chest of Nikola Jokic. Throw in a personal 8-0 run from Caleb Martin, draining two threes and taking a steal the distance, and it looked like Miami was playing with the right tone and tempo as they attacked Denver’s weak points.

But the Nuggets were game for that style, too. With Jamal Murray going nuts (29 first-half points on 13 shots) and Jokic steady as ever, they calmly responded to each Miami run to quiet the crowd just a little. Denver still wasn’t making very many threes, with three of their four coming from Murray, but they were getting plenty (30 points) in the paint while the HEAT struggled to convert in the upper paint (4-of-12 shooting). Denver by five at the break, but given that the HEAT were below 40 percent from the field it was a margin both teams had reason to be happy with. It was anyone’s game.

Denver took that to heart, opening the third on a 6-0 run that could’ve been much worse had a couple wide-open threes fallen. We’ve seen Miami play too well down double digits all postseason to say they were in anything close to the danger zone, but being down 16 is being down 16 – and Jokic continued to look as comfortable as ever even as the Nuggets hovered sub-30 percent from deep. Only Butler’s drives, shoulders-first as he is at his best, and short jumpers kept the game within 14 going into the fourth. Just as in Games 1 and 2, Miami found themselves with ground to make up in the final period – and the expectation was to see the press and the zone once again.

The same results of the previous two fourth quarters didn’t materialize, with Denver absorbing a quick 4-0 HEAT burst to eventually go up 21 with eight minutes to play behind an energetic shift from Christian Braun, feeding off Miami committing so many extra resources to trying to slow Murray and Jokic. There was still some life left as Adebayo attacked the offensive glass, but Denver held out the ol’ stiff arm and closed things out, 109-94, to take the 2-1 series lead and even up the number of remaining possible home games. This time, the late-game magic wasn’t quite there.&nbsp;

Game 4: Every time the Nuggets thoughts they were about to be out, the HEAT just pulled them back in.

Clunky start for both sides, Miami getting nowhere in the halfcourt while the Nuggets missed some decent looks. But Denver started to pull away, 18-11, after a handful of threes – bound to come at some point after a rough shooting series. That’s when the HEAT hit five straight jumpers to take the lead, just as they’ve done all postseason when thing other team strung together some positive possessions. The rest of the half would play out in much the same way, one answer for another. A Miami ghost cut followed by a Denver ghost cut. A Miami post seal for a dunk followed by a Denver post seal for a dunk.

It never quite felt like the HEAT were getting consistent stops with the Jamal Murray-Nikola Jokic pick-and-roll producing good look after good look and Denver’s Offensive Rating sitting around 120 all half. Miami stayed connected, though, thanks in part to the veteran mid-range savvy of Jimmy Butler (25-7-7 on 17 shots) and Kyle Lowry, but mostly because they finally found consistent downhill traction, making as many shots (8) in the restricted area – many of them off cuts and hard drives – as they did in all of Games 2 and 3. Again Denver started to creep ahead, 54-45, just before the half. Again, Miami clawed their way back in, down four at the break with the most important half of the season coming up.

More of the same in the third. Denver opened the period on a 10-4 run and had one opportunity after another to push the lead closer to 20, but nine-straight from Kevin Love – including the HEAT’s second banked-in three of the game – kept Miami within arm’s length, down eight. Then, after a lengthy stoppage in play to correct the level of the rim following an Adebayo missed dunk, Denver ran off another short burst to take it to 13, 86-73, going into the fourth – putting Miami in the same position for the fourth consecutive game. Was it time for the press and the zone, again?&nbsp;

But wait, a twist. With just over nine minutes to go, Jokic picked up his fourth and fifth fouls and made his way to the bench. A snap of the fingers later, the deficit was just five and the crowd was surging. Then, in a similar moment to one from the first half of Game 3, Murray hit a difficult three to stop the run. Miami just couldn’t get over the hump with Jokic on the bench, and by the time he came back in Denver led by nine. A couple drives from Bruce Brown and a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope transition three later, the lead stretched to 14 with under two minutes to play. And that was that. Miami, with all the desperate energy you would expect, had their shot at another final-period comeback, but the Nuggets were too good, too often, taking this one, 108-95, and a 3-1 series lead headed back to Denver.

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Gameday Rundown: Finals Return To Denver With HEAT's Season On The Brink

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Gameday Rundown: Miami's Chance To Tie Things Up

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Gameday Rundown: NBA Finals Come To Miami With Series Tied

Ball Arena - Denver, COSunday, June 4 @ 8:00 PMTV: ABCRadio: WQAM 560 - WRTO MIX 98.3 FM

IOTG: NBA Finals Collection

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Gameday Rundown: HEAT's Chance To Tie Finals Up In Denver

Ball Arena - Denver, COThursday, June 1 @ 8:30 PMTV: ABCRadio: WQAM 560&nbsp;-&nbsp;WRTO MIX 98.3 FM

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Gameday Rundown: NBA Finals Open In Denver

TD Garden - Boston, MAMonday, May 29 @ 8:30 PMTV: TNTRadio: WQAM 560&nbsp;-&nbsp;WRTO MIX 98.3 FM

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Game 1: On the surface, everything looked good early on. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo came out aggressive scoring 14 of the HEAT’s first 17 points. Kyle Lowry scored 13 points in the second quarter. Everything was falling outside the paint. Three. Mid-range. You name it, it was going in. Midway through the second quarter, the score was knotted.

Problem was, the vast majority of the HEAT’s offense was coming from the outside, and the majority of those opportunities were self-created, non-assisted. Boston’s switching scheme wasn’t slowing them down, but it was keeping bodies out of the paint. Unlike against Milwaukee’s drop-back scheme, the jumpers weren’t off the comfortable, walk-on-in variety – Butler’s four mid-range makes in the first quarter were one off his season high for an entire contest. Meanwhile, the Celtics were punishing the paint much as the New York Knicks did in Game 1 of that series. Unlike the Knicks, Boston was actually hitting a few threes. After a few stagnant possessions from the HEAT, the Celtics ran off an 8-0 run capped off by an Al Horford triple, and went into the half up 66-57, outscoring Miami 40-16 in the paint with Marcus Smart posting 10 assists.

Of course, four minutes into the third it was tied because the HEAT just kept hitting all their shots, just as they did against the Bucks, because they stopped turning the ball over, because Adebayo was incredible and because Miami started to earn more points in the paint while preventing them on the other end. By the end of that 46-point quarter – the highest scoring quarter in franchise postseason history – with Miami stringing together multiple threes to close it out, it was HEAT by 12.

Boston isn’t a team to fold. About 90 seconds into the fourth, they had closed it to five on a 7-0 run. As they have so often in this postseason, Miami held out a stiff arm, holding the lead and answering every punch with a made shot. Five minutes to go, the lead remained five, Butler quieting the crowd as he picked off Boston’s cross-court passes. In the end, it was the makes. It had to be the makes. Caleb Martin and Butler putting Miami up 10 with under two minutes to play with another pair of threes essentially decided it, Boston – with just 22 paint points in the second half – coming up short despite multiple chances to make it a one possession game. HEAT take Game 1, 123-116.

Game 2: You expect the home team down 1-0 to open Game 2 with a burst of desperate energy, but if we’ve learned anything from this postseason it’s that the HEAT don’t care one bit about expectations.

Miami opened on a 9-2 run, surviving on second chances as the Celtics were coming up empty in trying to post-up Max Strus and Gabe Vincent. The Boston crowd kept trying to lift up the home offense only to be met with a miss off iron and Miami was well on their way to a solid first quarter. Then Bam Adebayo hit the bench and Boston’s delayed burst began immediately, pushing the pace off misses and draining threes en route to a 19-2 run and a 12-point lead.&nbsp;

Just like in Game 1 it felt like things were slipping away a bit for the HEAT. Just like in Game 1, they answered right back. With Rob Williams assigned to Caleb Martin, Martin took it as a green light to get aggressive and almost immediately punished the matchup with 14 points – the only non-Butler player in double digits through two quarter – on 6-of-9 shooting in the first half, both driving the rim and taking the open threes. After Boston generated a handful of buckets hunting mismatches, Erik Spoelstra toggled to zone and bought some time – some open threes were allowed, but most of them missed. The HEAT’s run extended to 26-10 through the break after falling behind by a dozen, and they led by four, topping 40 percent from three (6-of-14) a game after making more than half of their attempts, with a few tough mid-range makes tossed in.

Again, Miami wasn’t getting the better shots – at least as the shots would be colloquially defined – but they were making more regardless. Boston fought back with drives and paint attacks, and yet just as soon as they re-took the lead there was Butler with another mid-range hit. Jayson Tatum (34 points on 20 shots) took over for a couple minutes to take the Celtics back up 11, and again there was a response from Martin and Butler to keep things stable. Boston by eight going into the fourth, but it felt like anyone’s game.

Boston stretched the lead back out to double digits, trying to find a hammer to put down, but again there was a Martin attack followed by a pair of Duncan Robinson threes – scoring on a trio of backdoor cuts throughout the game – to get it back to four. Then it was Butler time, going head-to-head with Grant Williams, literally for a couple moments, for a handful of scores to once again close the gap. Then another couple of Butler jumpers, shouldering the burden, to take a two-point lead with two minutes to play. Once again, it was turnovers costing the Celtics as the HEAT won in the margins, Adebayo (22 points, 17 rebounds, nine assists) snatching a rebound out of the air for a putback to go up five under a minute. Then it was Gabe Vincent with just his second make of the game, on a stepback jumper to go back up four. Another clutch game, another clutch win, 111-105, as Miami, improbably based on history, goes up 2-0 on the road. There aren’t enough superlatives for what this group is doing right now.

Game 3: Whatever you expect, throw it out the window during this postseason run.

After losing two games on their home floor you would have expected the Celtics to come out with the desperate energy of a team with their season on the brink. Instead, it was once again Miami leading the way, swarming Boston’s drives with shrinks and swipes while, once again, hitting just about every jumper they put up. By the end of the first quarter, Miami was up eight, having hit over half of their threes and mid-range shots. At that point, again, you expect Boston to answer back.

Instead, about six minutes later it was Miami up by 22 – with Jimmy Butler only having two points on three shots – with everything going in their favor. They were the aggressors. They were bending the defense more often, moving the ball better and making more shots. The way things were going were best illustrated by three plays from Duncan Robinson – first he dusts Grant Williams off the dribble and scores over Jayson Tatum at the rim, then he gets downhill again and kicks out for an open Caleb Martin three, then on his third drive he lobbed up the most perfectly placed lob of his life for an NBA Street Vol. 2 finish for Bam Adebayo. The offense stalled out a bit to close the half – still hitting an Offensive Rating of 127.7, mind you – making the lead only 15, but Boston was struggling so much to both hit threes and take care of the ball it left their efforts at damage mitigation somewhat wanting.

Maybe you expected the Celtics, again, to open the second half with a run. You can probably see where this is going. Midway through the third period, it was 83-56 Miami – 12-of-23 from deep at that point – with literally nothing going right for the visitors. The HEAT haven’t always looked dominant in this run, often coming back from down double digits to earn their wins, but this was as complete and all-powerful a performance as they’ve put together since the regular season ended. There wasn’t a single area of this one that Miami didn’t win – a total team effort through and through – as they take a 3-0 series lead a they cruised in the fourth quarter to a 128-102 victory and Offensive Rating of 130.9.

Be shocked at the results – these are unbelievable results from a certain, historical point of view – of this one, sure, because that has plenty to do with a Boston team that has, in the past, fought whenever they were down. But if you’re shocked by how the HEAT are playing at this point, you should be paying closer attention.

Game 4: If we’ve learned anything about this particular HEAT group, it’s that you have to actually beat them to beat them. Their details are too precise, too consistent, to ever get in their own way. You can’t just play well and expect them to lose.

To Boston’s credit, they didn’t expect anything from Miami. They beat them, outright.

Boston played better in this one, maybe better than they’ve played since the first half of Game 1. They shot better, too, finally getting a handful of threes to fall. But the first half was always being played on Miami’s terms – at their pace, with their physicality, according to their rules of half-court engagement. The Celtics could move the ball better and find cleaner threes, but off the dribble they still couldn’t find a way to consistently crack Miami’s defensive shell, leading to just 16 paint points in the first two quarters. The HEAT, meanwhile, found advantage after advantage. Either Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo attack matchups that they like – Butler kept getting Derrick White on him just about whenever he wanted, though Boston brought a bit more help this time – or Miami’s constant movement and precise spacing tilted Boston’s rotations, forcing high-processing speed help and giving&nbsp;

All of which is to say, the HEAT led 56-50 at the break despite not playing their best. It was as much their game as it had been their series to that points, always the aggressors as Boston – with only White in double figures as Jayson Tatum struggled with four turnovers –labored to solve problems on the fly.

There was a brief moment early in the third, with Miami up nine, where it felt like the HEAT were about to break the game wide open just like they did at the same time in Game 3. A handful of missed shots and turnovers – which had generally not been an issue all series – and suddenly Boston was ahead 68-61 off a 16-0 run. You have to actually beat Boston to beat them, too, not for the same reasons as the HEAT but because of their sheer wealth of talent. There was a chance for Boston to break it open in their own direction, especially with Adebayo in foul trouble, but Jimmy Butler – scoring 13 of Miami’s 23 points in the period, 29 on 21 shots overall – found ways to grind out some points and keep the deficit in the single digits. Boston by nine going into the fourth, with their season literally on the line.

As Erik Spoelstra typically does when the defense starts slipping, he threw a changeup to open the fourth, going to their zone defense while Butler caught some rest. Slowly, Miami ate into the lead, getting within five. Then Tatum (33 points on 22 shots) came back in, hitting a jumper in the middle of the zone, and it was quickly back to nine. Then 17 with seven minutes to play, Tatum righting the offensive ship. And that was that, 116-99, with Miami’s first chance to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals gone. Good thing they have another chance coming up as soon as Thursday.

Game 5: You couldn’t have scripted a much worse start for Miami in their second attempt at closing this series out.

On the very first possession of the game, Boston sent help on a Bam Adebayo isolation – something they’ve often been reticent to do – forced a turnover and scored in transition. A couple minutes later, with Marcus Smart hitting back-to-back threes, it was already 15-5 Celtics. It didn’t get much better from there – Boston making the plays in the margins, forcing turnovers and grabbing offensive boards, and in the body of the text, shooting 11-of-26 from three in the first half. For a brief moment the HEAT got the lead down to 12, Erik Spoelstra changing the rhythm of the game by toggling to zone, with a few minutes left in the half to continue chipping away, but a minute later it ballooned out to 20. By the break the deficit was 17, still manageable but not quite as manageable as he could have been.

About the same in the third quarter. Even as the HEAT shot the ball pretty well from everywhere, the turnovers were anchoring their offense far below Boston’s efficiency on a night when the home team was capitalizing on all their opportunities from the arc. Every time Miami strung together a couple makes together, the Celtics would answer with their own run and keep the lead in the upper teens if not low 20’s.

Boston – with four starters over 20 points as they finished 41 percent from three – takes this one decisively, 110-97, and the best you can say about the end is that Miami’s bench players, playing five-out with Kevin Love at center, at least forced Boston’s top guys to play out most of the fourth quarter until the deeper roster players came in with three minutes to play. Game 6 is Saturday as Miami gets another chance to close this out.

Game 6: The first two quarters of this one qualified as an incredible feat of damage control.

It’s never surprising to see somewhat muddy offense in the opening minutes of such a high-leverage game such as this one. That’s normal. But slowly, Boston pulled themselves out of that muck, transitioning their offense from requiring mid-range makes to getting into the paint at a rate higher than Miami has allowed since Game 1. Things took a little longer on Miami’s side, never quite looking like the best version of themselves but getting enough shots to fall to stay within striking range.

With Jayson Tatum (31 points on 21 shots) hitting from everywhere but behind the arc, the Celtics were up by as much as 11 but only four at the break for one reason and one reason only – Miami shot 9-of-15 from three. Many of those were good looks as the Celtics miscommunicated some coverages and left shooters open, but makes are makes and with Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus combining for seven of those nine threes – and Boston 3-of-15 from deep on their own side – the score looked much better than the actual game felt. Credit Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, both struggling to score, with seven combined offensive boards as they found a way to make an impact despite clean opportunities being tough to come by. Miami was proverbially hanging around, but more was going to be required.

Getting into the bonus and drawing a fourth foul on Jaylen Brown early in the third quarter helped, the HEAT still right there, down two or four or two again. The lead ballooned out to 13 at one point and Miami again mitigated the damage, in large part thanks to being in the bonus, getting it down to seven after three. Still right there, with Boston’s offense started to slow down as it often does down the stretch, still staring at the hump from the down slope.

Right over that hump in the fourth, Duncan Robinson making huge plays to get Miami up by one. That was the moment, and almost instantly it was ripped away as the Celtics jumped back up seven within a single minute. Then 10, even as Robinson kept making shots, jumpers and cuts – a 16-5 run in all. Miami wasn’t done, and neither was Butler, pushing his way towards the rim over and over and getting to the line to get right back in it. And then there was another moment, this time Butler getting fouled by Al Horford behind the arc with 2.1 seconds left, down two – and he iced them all. Up one, three seconds left. The NBA Finals were right there, three seconds away.

Boston timeout. Marcus Smart three. A miss. And then there was Derrick White, putting the ball back in as time expired. Boston wins, 104-103. The series goes back to Boston for Game 7.

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Gameday Rundown: Game 7 For A Trip To The NBA Finals

Kaseya Center - Miami, FLSaturday, May 27 @ 8:30 PMTV: TNTRadio: WQAM 560 - WRTO MIX 98.3 FM