NBA Finals, Game 2: Vincent brings heat for Miami as fourth quarter surge takes them past Denver to level series
- Gabe Vincent scores 23 points and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo bag 21 points apiece for Miami
- Nuggets star Nikola Jokic scores 41 points in game of swinging shifts in momentum
The Miami Heat handed the Denver Nuggets their first home defeat of the playoffs, surging in the fourth quarter for a 111-108 victory that levelled the NBA Finals at one game apiece.
Gabe Vincent scored 23 points, and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo scored 21 points apiece for Miami, who withstood a 41-point performance from Nuggets star Nikola Jokic to get the split in Denver and breathe new life into the championship campaign.
In a game of swinging shifts of momentum, the Heat had the last word, rallying from a 15-point first-half deficit and out-scoring the Nuggets 36-25 in the final period as they silenced the crowd of 19,537 at Ball Arena.
Adebayo sealed it with a pair of free-throws with 48.3 seconds remaining.
“We know we’ve got to do it on the defensive end,” Adebayo said of Miami’s fourth-quarter focus. “That’s the biggest thing for us. We got to do it on that end because we know we can score, all five guys we believe in. So the biggest thing for us was getting stops.”
Denver had a last chance to tie it, but Jamal Murray missed a three-pointer.