Denver Nuggets defeated Miami Heat for the first NBA championship

It took 56 years and 38 playoff appearances for the basketball team, nestled in the high plains just east of the Rocky Mountains, to finally reach the pinnacle of its sport.

It took an unannounced center from Serbia who became the most formidable player in the game and a Canadian point guard who found himself again after a long and difficult recovery from a career-threatening knee injury. It took patience, cooperation and a discipline that came from trying, failing and learning to climb higher and higher.

The Denver Nuggets are NBA champions.

They clinched the first title in franchise history on Monday night at their home court at Ball Arena, 5,280 feet above sea level – the highest elevation at which an NBA championship has been won. Led by center Nikola Jokic and point guard Jamal Murray, and bolstered by the rest of a tireless eight-man rotation, the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat with a 94-89 victory in Game 5.

Jokic was named the most valuable player of the final.

“I have news for everyone out there,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone, as the crowd erupted. “We are not satisfied with one! We want more! We want more!”

The clinch game was neither pretty nor easy. For the first three quarters, Denver struggled to make three-point shots and convert free throws; the Nuggets flipped the ball carelessly. The Heat had a 7-point lead at halftime and led by a point after the third quarter.

But in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets found the decision to take the title. With about 10 minutes and 59 seconds left, Murray hit a 3-pointer—only the Nuggets’ third of the game—to give the Nuggets a 4-point lead. Murray charged down the field as the Heat called a timeout. It was Denver’s biggest lead since the first quarter.

Later, Murray struck again. This time, Aaron Gordon blocked Heat guard Kyle Lowry’s jumper, leading to a transition basket for Murray to give the Nuggets a 5-point lead.

And with less than 30 seconds left, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stole a pass from Jimmy Butler to Max Strus and made both free throws to give Denver a three-point lead.

The Nuggets are leaving a dubious club. There are now only 10 teams in the league that have never won an NBA championship. Five have made it to the Finals and lost, including the Phoenix Suns, who fell short three times, most recently in 2021.

But the Nuggets had never gotten this far, at least not in the NBA. Not since 1976, when they lost to the New York Nets in the American Basketball Association Finals, had they reached a championship streak.

The long drought helps explain why the Nuggets were underrated all season. Pundits and oddsmakers doubted their ability to win, even after taking first place in the Western Conference in December and never letting go.

People wondered if Jokic, despite his superlatives, could lead a team this far – after all, he had never taken the Nuggets past the conference finals. Those questions may have cost him a third consecutive Most Valuable Player Award – an achievement many believe should be reserved for champions.

Some wondered if Murray would ever return to the elite level he played at in 2021, when a knee injury just before the playoffs put him and Denver on a two-year journey to completely reset.

Along the way, some role-players found their stride, even though they mostly went unnoticed.

Caldwell-Pope, whom the Nuggets traded for last season, added defensive, shooting and championship experience. For a few playoff games, he brought into the ring he won with the Lakers in 2020 and let his teammates hold him. None of them have one.

“They gave me the opportunity here, because of my championship, to be that leader – be vocal, let them know about my experience and how difficult it is to get to this point where we are now,” said Caldwell-Pope. “I just try to keep them motivated.”

Gordon, whom the Nuggets traded for in March 2021, thankfully became a defensive stopper after being the offensive star of the Orlando Magic.

“I’m not here for credit,” Gordon said. “I’m here for the wins.”

Bruce Brown provided offensive sparks; Jeff Green added veteran rest; Christian Braun, a rookie, offered a youthful fearlessness that would pay off in the final.

The Nuggets blasted through the dysfunctional Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round, then defeated the Suns in six games. They won the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals and then waited a week to find out who they would face in the finals.

Like the Nuggets, the Heat had taken a 3-0 lead in their series of conference finals. But they faltered as the Boston Celtics fought back in the East, winning the next three games and forcing a deciding Game 7.

“When Boston won Game 6, we had been sitting for so long it almost felt like we weren’t in the playoffs anymore,” said Green. “Because all we did was watch them.”

Miami, propelled by its relentless star Butler, won Game 7 for the franchise’s seventh trip to the Finals, this time as the No. 8 seed. A win would have given Miami its first championship in a decade, one much more unexpected than the three it had won.

If people overlooked Denver this season, they flat out ignored Miami. The Heat barely made the playoffs and then gave even ardent believers reason to doubt when they faltered against Boston. They had an us against the world mentality heading into the finals as Denver seemed to have the world on its side for once.

And who could blame the Nuggets when that wave of confidence rushed to their heads?

Denver took Game 1 and Jokic recorded a triple-double. After that, the Nuggets started celebrating as if they could already feel their championship parade rumble. They lost focus and let Miami steal Game 2 even as Jokic scored 41 points. Malone, Denver’s coach, berated the Nuggets and questioned their efforts. He wouldn’t have to do that again.

Jokic and Murray each had triple-doubles in Game 3 in front of a boisterous Miami crowd. In Game 4, Brown scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, fueling Miami’s desperation.

The Nuggets had some unusual visitors in their locker room after Game 4. The Nuggets owner E. Stanley Kroenke and his son, Josh Kroenke, the team president, grinned happily, each holding a can of Coors. The Nuggets had just taken a 3-1 lead in the Finals and they felt the franchise was closing in on its first championship. Only one Finals team – the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers – had ever been able to dig themselves out of that deep hole.

But the Nuggets players and coaches refused to acknowledge how close they were. They remembered what happened after Game 1.

“We have yet to win one,” Jokic said after Game 4. “I like that we didn’t relax. We didn’t feel comfortable. We were still desperate. We still want it.”

Murray offered a little more confidence. “We’re just ready to win a championship,” he said. “We have the tools to do it. It’s been on our minds for a while.”

Fifty-six years for some.