But those five combined to shoot 14 of 40 from the field and 8 of 25 on 3-pointers on Wednesday – numbers boosted by Robinson draining two 3s with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter, after the game was already decided. They may not be well known by the masses who are tuning into the Finals, but the Heat would not have made it this far without Martin, Robinson, Vincent, Strus and even Lowry scoring big buckets and carrying the offense for stretches along the way. When the other team is putting up numbers like that, your stars need all the help they can get to stay afloat. Murray had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, making him and Jokić the only teammates ever to record 30-point triple-doubles in the same Finals game. Jokić had 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the first player in NBA history with a 30-20-10 game in the Finals. While Butler and Adebayo struggled to put their imprint on the game offensively, Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray made it look easy on the other end during a historical performance from the explosive Denver duo. The absence of a third or fourth scoring option was felt more on Wednesday than at any point in this playoff run, as Miami kept trying to find someone - anyone - to support Butler and Adebayo on the offensive end. Gabe Vincent has been that guy at different points throughout this run. Max Strus was that guy in the second Play-In Tournament win over Chicago. Martin was that guy during most of the Eastern Conference finals against Boston. Duncan Robinson was that guy in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Game 2 Heat win in this series.
This historic postseason run for the Heat has been filled with tales of unsung heroes coming up with shocking offensive production at opportune times. “I think that was their objective, to get in the paint, get inside and use their size and physicality. We didn’t play with the force we needed to play with,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said. We didn’t match the force that we needed. “One thing about Coach tonight, he knew how they were going to come out aggressive, and we just didn’t.
#Butler tire conyers series#
The only way Miami has a shot in this series is if Martin – and a few of his teammates – have a few more moments in them bottled up and ready to go at the right time. The defeat offered a quick glimpse into the difficulty the Heat will find trying to match Denver’s offensive production without the supporting pieces stepping in and playing at a star level during certain points in this series. With Miami struggling to gain traction on that end, the Nuggets rolled in the second half and easily pulled off a 109-94 victory to give them a 2-1 series lead in the Finals. This was the most stale the Heat’s offense has looked through the first three games of the Finals. Whatever spark the offense provided when Martin started heating up fizzled for good after that. The Heat shot 37 percent from the field and 31.4 percent on 3s. After his eight-point burst, Martin only scored two points the rest of the game.
0 kommentar(er)
