Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone publicly rebuked the NBA Finals after losing Game 2 at home, saying, “The players played too loosely in the fourth quarter.”
Denver lost Game 2 of the Finals 111-108 to the Miami Heat on the 5th. It is the first loss in 10 home games of the playoffs. The series went 1-1, making it difficult to predict the direction of the championship. Even when the first game was won 104-93, Denver’s one-sided pace was expected in the series.
However, Denver lost the lead by 83-75, 8 points until the 3rd quarter. It is also a scene that shows that the power of Miami, which caused a sensation as the 8th seed, is not sparkling.
Miami has a record of 4 wins and 5 losses in all POs, leading by 8 points in the 4th quarter. The rest of the teams have only 1 win and 41 losses. In addition, in this PO, the show overturned the double-digit score difference seven times. It is the highest tie record ever.
Coincidentally, over the past 25 years, Miami has achieved a show of overturning a double-digit lead in POs in a single season three times, including this year. The 2022 Golden State Warriors are the only team outside of Miami. Among them, two teams won the championship: Miami in 2012 and Golden State last year.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra and players don’t panic when they lead by double digits. The confidence that you can do a flipping show at any time is buried. In the actual second game, Miami overwhelmed Denver with a 68.8% field goal success rate in the fourth quarter.
In Game 2, Denver center Nikola Yogić scored the most for both teams with 41 points. But the team lost. In 17 PO games this year, Yogić scored 40 or more points three times. He scored 53 points in the conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns. An interesting fact is that I lost all the matches I wrote over 40 points. When Yogichi’s score is less than 40, his record is rather 13 wins and 1 loss.
Yogichi only had 4 assists in the second game. 11 rebounds. Missed a triple-double. The record shows that the team suffers when they focus on scoring themselves and neglect ball distribution to their teammates. In the first game, he made a triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists, and the team also won easily.메이저놀이터
Homecourt advantage now went to Miami. If the Heat win Games 3 or 4, the Nuggets will be in a very difficult situation. Miami is a three-time NBA champion. 2006, 2012, 2013. They lost the first leg on all three occasions and won the championship. I wonder if the record will not lie again. Power is still Denver’s advantage.