The Denver Nuggets have been on a mission throughout the postseason.
One of the objectives: Come to Miami, take both games on the road, and head home with a chance to become NBA champions for the first time in franchise history.
That's what they did.
It was Aaron Gordon leading the charge behind his game-high 27 points paired with double-doubles from Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray and a big fourth quarter from Bruce Brown on the way to a 108-95 victory.
Jokić put up 23 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and three blocks while fighting through an ankle injury, while Murray put up 15 points and 12 assists, becoming the first player in NBA history to record a double-double in his first four Finals games.
Brown had 21 points off the bench, with 11 of them coming in the fourth quarter, on 8 of 11 shooting.
But it was Gordon who came out big in perhaps the biggest game of his career.
He was the former 4th overall pick in the 2014 Draft with the Orlando Magic, with expectations of him turning into a superstar, to lead the Magic. Though it never truly fit with him, he tried to live up to those expectations.
But once the Nuggets traded for him in their search of looking to make up for the production they lost when Jerami Grant left for Detroit, everything changed.
The team was clearly built around Jokić and Murray. Because Michael Porter Jr. at that time was their third scorer, they were looking for a defensive presence along with the offensive firepower Gordon can give them.
And now he has become a defensive anchor for the Nuggets throughout the playoffs, regularly defending the opponents' best offensive player, regardless of size or position.
It's no fluke that opponents have shot just 39.8% from the field and 27.1% from three with him as their primary defender. He held the Heat to 30% shooting and contested 70% of the shots taken against them when he was the primary defender in Game 4.
The Heat made it tight in the first half, but once the second half came, Denver was on complete cruise control.
The Nuggets entered the 4th quarter up by 13. Though the Heat came out flying out of the gates in the final frame by scoring the first eight points, and with Jokić getting called for his fifth foul with 9:24 left, and even if it was a five-point game after a three-pointer from Jimmy Butler with 8:42 left, the Nuggets didn't falter.
Now the Heat are finding themselves on a very eerie familiar side of history that 36 teams before them have faced: Down 3-1 in a series and on the brink of losing the Finals.
Out of those 36 teams, only the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers have ever overcome such a deficit in the NBA Finals, but for the Heat to pull that off, it will require the ultimate Herculean effort.
Butler finished with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the Finals, and Kyle Lowry added 13 points, all in the first half, along with seven assists.
But it was not enough as the Heat fell to a 3-1 hole for the third straight Finals series.
Game 5 will be on June 12th at 8:30 PM ET/6:30 PM MT. In what could be the clincher, I'll be covering the game on Twitter Spaces @DatYinzerAlec. Follow along for the play-by-play!
Injuries
Nuggets: Jokić tweaked his right ankle when he landed on the back of Max Strus' foot midway through the first quarter. He briefly went to the locker room before the start of the second quarter, but played the rest of the way without any apparent issue. Murray played with tape protecting the bottom of his left hand because of a floor burn he got in Game 3.
Heat: Tyler Herro has still not been cleared to play and was ruled out of Game 4. Head coach Erik Spoelstra said that Herro is going through all the necessary steps in recovering from a broken hand, but hasn't been able to clear the final steps.
Birthdays
The youngest and oldest players in the NBA Finals share a birthday: Game 4 was Nikola Jović's 20th birthday, while it was 20-year veteran Udonis Haslem's 43rd birthday. Jović was 58 days old when Haslem signed his first Heat contract. If Game 4 was the Heat's home finale this season, then they have went 613-299 at Kaseya Center (formerly American Airlines Arena and FTX Arena) in Haslem's career.
A Slow Start
Both teams had 41 combined points in the first quarter. It was the fewest in an opening quarter of a Finals game out of the last 24 Finals since Game 4 between the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors in 2019, where both teams combined for 40 points in the first quarter.
Spot the Celebrity
Among celebrities attending Game 4 were two-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, Kentucky head coach John Calipari, Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, actor Chris Tucker, musicians Lil Wayne, Flo Rida, J Balvin, G-Eazy and Ozuna, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., NBA Hall of Famers Magic Johnson and Heat legend Dwyane Wade, association football stars Neymar and Paul Pogba, and twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder, the latter two who helped the Miami Hurricanes make the Elite Eight in the Women's March Madness.
Scoring by Quarter
1st Quarter: Nuggets 20, Heat 21—Heat lead 21-20
2nd Quarter: Nuggets 35, Heat 30—Nuggets lead 55-51
3rd Quarter: Nuggets 31, Heat 22—Nuggets 86-73
4th Quarter: Nuggets 22, Heat 22—Nuggets win 108-95
Box Score
Denver Nuggets
Aaron Gordon: 27 points (11/15 FG, 3/4 3PT, 2/3 FT), 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 41:42
Nikola Jokić: 23 points (8/19 FG, 3/7 3PT, 4/4 FT), 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 37:08
Bruce Brown: 21 points (8/11 FG, 3/5 3PT, 2/3 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 29:35
Jamal Murray: 15 points (5/17 FG, 2/3 3PT, 3/3 FT), 3 rebounds, 12 assists, 1 steal, 1 foul, 42:39
Michael Porter Jr.: 11 points (4/10 FG, 0/3 3PT, 3/4 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, 22:36
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: 7 points (2/5 FG, 2/5 3PT, 1/2 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 2 fouls, 36:01
Jeff Green: 3 points (1/1 FG, 1/1 3PT, 0/0 FT), 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 15:34
Christian Braun: 1 point (0/1 FG, 0/0 3PT, 1/2 FT), 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 14:45
Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler: 25 points (9/17 FG, 1/3 3PT, 6/9 FT), 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 45:25
Bam Adebayo: 20 points (8/19 FG, 0/0 3PT, 4/4 FT), 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 7 turnovers, 1 foul, 43:39
Kyle Lowry: 13 points (3/7 FG, 1/4 3PT, 6/6 FT), 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 32:46
Duncan Robinson: 12 points (5/7 FG, 2/4 3PT, 0/0 FT), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 25:01
Kevin Love: 12 points (4/6 FG, 3/5 3PT, 1/1 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 fouls, 18:19
Caleb Martin: 11 points (5/12 FG, 1/2 3PT, 0/0 FT), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 32:51
Gabe Vincent: 2 points (1/6 FG, 0/4 3PT, 0/0 FT), 1 assist, 2 turnovers, 3 fouls, 18:39
Cody Zeller: 0 points (0/0 FG, 0/0 FT), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 foul, 4:21
Haywood Highsmith: 0 points (0/0 FG, 0/0 FT), 0 fouls, 0:03
Max Strus: 0 points (0/4 FG, 0/3 3PT, 0/0 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 fouls, 18:56
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