NBA Finals: Denver Nuggets win first championship title in Game 5 victory over Miami Heat
CNN —
The Denver Nuggets won their first NBA championship Monday night, downing the Miami Heat 94-89 at Ball Arena in Denver to take Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Two-time MVP Nikola Jokić led the way for the Nuggets with a game-high 28 points and 16 rebounds.
“It was an amazing effort by the team,” he told ABC after the game. “It was an ugly game. We couldn’t make shots but at the end, we figured out how to defend.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of the Denver Nuggets drives to the basket against the Miami Heat during Game Five of the 2023 NBA Finals on June 12, 2023 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images
Michael Porter Jr. had 16 points and 13 boards and Jamal Murray chipped in 14 points.
Jimmy Butler had 21 points and Bam Adebayo had 20 to lead Miami, which as an eight-seed had surprised the NBA by advancing to the Finals.
The Nuggets, who played in the American Basketball Association for nine seasons beginning in 1967, joined the NBA before the 1976-1977 season.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Source: CNN
