Miami Heat

The Denver Nuggets took the lead in the NBA Finals, beating the Miami Heat 104-93 in Game 1 at home.

Nikola Jokic was at his best playmaking with 27 points, 14 assists, and ten rebounds, joining Jason Kidd as the only player in NBA history A with a triple-double in his Finals debut. Jamal Murray had 26 points and ten assists in the win, while Aaron Gordon had a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Miami struggled to keep pace with Denver’s offense, shooting 40.6% from the field and 33.3% (13-of-39) from beyond the arc to end a grueling Game 7 with just two days off.

Can the Heat bounce back in Game 2? Or will the Nuggets go 2-0 at home? Butler and the Heat came under the spotlight with an 8.5-point deficit in Game 1 and even got more than a 50-50 chance of winning or losing on Friday.

It continued a trend in the Eastern Conference finals when the Heat was often a public favorite against the favored Celtics.

Even though the first race was uneven and uncompetitive, hopefully, the public will continue to ride Miami and shorten the line ahead of the second race in Denver on Monday.