PIX: Denver Nuggets beat Miami Heat to win first NBA title

June 13, 2023 09:16 IST

IMAGE: The Denver Nuggets celebrate with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy after beating Miami Heat in Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals to win the NBA Championship at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Monday. Photographs: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Led by 28 points from Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 94-89 on Monday to bring a first NBA title to Mile High City.

With a raucous capacity crowd packed into Ball Arena ready to celebrate, the Nuggets ended a 47-year championship wait by taking the best-of-seven series 4-1.

Once again the Nuggets were led by Jokic, the Serbian big man hitting for a double-double of 28 points and 16 rebounds while Michael Porter Jr. contributed 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The eighth-seeded Heat had defied the odds throughout the postseason, taking out the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics, but the challenge facing them on Monday was a near impossible one.

Of the 36 teams that have fallen behind 3-1 in an NBA Finals only one, the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, came back to claim the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

Making the task even more daunting, Ball Arena has been a virtual fortress for the Nuggets, who were 9-1 at home during the postseason.

That one loss however coming to Miami in Game Two.

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