2023 NBA Finals

24 thoughts on Game 1 of 2023 NBA Finals

Instant observations and the best of NBA Twitter from Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals as it happened in Denver on Thursday.

Brian Martin, for NBA.com

Jamal Murray finishes with 26 points and 10 assists to help power the Nuggets to a Game 1 win vs. Miami in the NBA Finals.

The first-ever NBA Finals game in Denver could not have been scripted any better for the Nuggets fans in attendance. A triple-double from Nikola Jokic, 26 points from Jamal Murray, a total of five Nuggets in double figures, and a 104-93 victory over the Miami Heat to take a 1-0 series lead.

1 – Nikola Jokic was in full maestro mode in Game 1, finishing with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in the game for his ninth triple-double of the postseason, extending his own record. He finished with 27 points scored and another 31 points created by his assists.

2 – Jokic had just three shot attempts in the first half, compared to 10 assists that created 23 Denver points. He had just five total shot attempts entering the fourth quarter but completely dominated the game with his playmaking.

3 – Jokic wasn’t the only Nuggets player that shined as Jamal Murray finished with 26 points and 10 dimes of his own. The Denver duo joined some impressive company with their 25+ point, 10+ assist efforts in Game 1.

4 – Jamal Murray entered The Finals with the largest increase from his regular season scoring average (20 ppg) to his postseason scoring average (27.7 ppg) this season. The nine-day break between games was not enough to cool him off as he posted yet another 25+ point game.

5 – The two-man game between Jokic and Murray was practically unstoppable. Take a look at these two possessions from early in the second half. First, Murray takes a hand-off from Jokic, drives the baseline and pulls up for a jumper and-one.

Then there was the remix, as Murray uses the Jokic screen, drives the lane and draws two defenders, fakes the jumper and passes it back out to Jokic for the wide-open 3-pointer to beat the shot clock.

6 – We can’t forget about Aaron Gordon, who was super aggressive in the first quarter, taking advantage of mismatches with the Heat trying to guard him with smaller defenders. Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin all had their turns being on the wrong end of Gordon layups and dunks as he attacked the basket relentlessly.

7 – Bam Adebayo was the only Heat player to get going offensively in the first half, posting 16 points on 8-for-13 shooting as Miami’s only double-digit scorer at the break. He finished the game with a team-high 26 points for his highest-scoring game of the 2023 playoffs.

8 – Miami’s shooters that have delivered all postseason long struggled mightily in Game 1. Max Strus went scoreless on 0-for-10 shooting, including 0-for-9 on 3-pointers. Caleb Martin shot just 1-for-7 and Duncan Robinson was 1-for-6. The three combined to shoot 2-for-23 from the field and 2-for-16 on 3-pointers. Gabe Vincent finished 5-of-10 from 3-point range as the Heat as a team finished 13-of-39 (33.3%).

9 – Miami’s offense created good looks, they were just missing shots that we’ve seen them make throughout their run to The Finals. If there is a positive to take from the loss it’s that Miami’s offense was getting the shots they wanted, and they can’t expect their shooters to struggle to this level again.

10 – Another Heat stat that we likely won’t see again is their two total free throw attempts in Game 1, which set a record for the fewest ever in a playoff game. Entering The Finals, the Heat averaged 16.9 free throws made and 21 free throw attempts. They finished Game 1 shooting 2-of-2 at the line, with both coming from Haywood Highsmith.

11 – Anyone that was debating the rest vs. rust question for the Nuggets after their nine days off between the West Finals and Game 1 of the NBA Finals got a definitive answer in the opening half. Denver scored 59 first-half points on 59.5% shooting in the opening 24 minutes.

12 – With 10:24 left to play in the game we get a rare Finals “wedgie” on a missed step-back 3-pointer from Jamal Murray. Any “wedgie” requires a shout out to the No Dunks (nee The Starters) crew, who created the phrase years ago.

13 – In his pregame speech to his team, Nuggets coach Michael Malone recounted Miami’s success in Game 1s on the road throughout the playoffs and was definitive about that trend ending in Denver.

14 – The Nuggets handed the Heat their first Game 1 loss of the postseason, while going a perfect 4-0 in Game 1s themselves. Of course, as the No. 1 seed in the West, the Nuggets have had home-court advantage for each of their Game 1 wins, while Miami was impressive in stealing its last three series-openers (all of which were on the road). Despite losing Game 1, the Heat can still tie the series up with a Game 2 win on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ABC).

15 – After trailing by as many as 24 points, and entering the fourth quarter down by 21, the Heat showed their resolve by opening the quarter on an 8-0 run to cut Denver’s lead to 13 points. Just when it looked like the rout was on, Miami had a response. Should we have expected anything less from this group?

16 – Denver answered Miami’s 8-0 run with a 6-0 burst of their own to push the lead back to 16. That run involved Jokic, starting with a pass in traffic to a cutting Jeff Green for a layup, then a pair of free throws for Jokic and, finally, a Jokic layup off a nice drop-off pass from Michael Porter Jr.

17 – Miami utilized its zone defense in the first half while Jokic was on the bench. The Nuggets were able to penetrate the zone and create good looks to keep their offense rolling.

In the second half, the Heat went to the zone again, this time with Jokic on the court, and it helped them cut into Denver’s lead. It eliminated the two-man game between Jokic and Murray that had been so deadly throughout the night, and forced the Nuggets to play late into the shot clock. Denver did miss some shots on good looks against the zone, but it was more effective in the second half than the first.

18 – Adebayo finished with 26 points on 13-of-25 shooting, 13 rebounds and five assists in the loss (his fourth 20-10 game of the 2023 postseason). While Jokic and Murray both finished 25+ points and 10+ assists, Adebayo’s partner, Jimmy Butler, didn’t fare as well. Butler had 13 points — his lowest scoring game of the playoffs — on 6-of-14 shooting, while also adding seven boards and seven assists.

19 – Jokic’s 14 assists were not only the most ever by a player making their NBA Finals debut, they were the most ever by a center in any NBA Finals game. It will be interesting to see how Miami plays Jokic moving forward. Will they allow him to orchestrate the offense and create for others? Or will they try to force Jokic into being a scorer and try to keep everyone else in check?

20 – A bright spot for the Heat outside of Adebayo’s game was Highsmith’s performance off the bench. He finished with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting (2-for-4 on 3-pointers) in 23 minutes. He may have earned more minutes for Game 2 on Sunday.

21 – The Nuggets had to wait 47 years from their NBA debut in 1976 to hosting their first NBA Finals game. And they got to celebrate a win that puts them three victories away from the title.

22 – Speaking of the title, the Larry O’Brien trophy was on hand at Ball Arena after making a grand entrance from the skies above the city. Larry’s whirlwind tour made its stop in Denver, where he was greeted by ESPN’s Malika Andrews and delivered to the arena in time for tip off.

23 – Considering how great Jokic and Murray played and how poorly the Heat shot in Game 1, Miami is still in a good position to try to earn a split on the road. The film session tomorrow will be a rough watch for the likes of Strus, Martin and Robinson, but there are positives to take away from this game.

24 – The final thought goes back to the first thought: marveling at Jokic’s brilliance on the court. In the first half, he surgically picked apart the Miami defense, setting up his teammates for great shots time and time again. When the game got tight in the 4th quarter and Denver needed him to score down the stretch, he delivered with 12 fourth-quarter points.

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