Finals MVP Ladder: Nuggets dominate race after big Game 4

Nikola Jokic waved a towel wildly, slamming it hard near the bench once Bruce Brown splashed the 26-foot backbreaker that punctuated Denver’s 108-95 win over Miami in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The two-time Kia MVP understandably couldn’t contain the excitement.

“When he did a step-back 3, I wanted to punch him,” Jokic said. “But when he made it, I was so happy.”

The Nuggets’ late fourth-quarter feeding frenzy fueled Jokic’s sideline display of sheer jubilance as the visitors snuffed out all hopes for a Miami comeback in crunch time on the game’s biggest stage. Deservedly, Denver lands four players atop this Game 4 edition of the 2023 Race to the NBA Finals MVP Ladder, as the series heads back to Ball Arena Sunday for Game 5.

Teams seizing a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals are a combined 35-1 in league history.

“The first thing I said [is] we’re not celebrating,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “We’ve done our job. But we’re not celebrating like we’ve done anything yet. We know we’re going to have to go home, turn off the TV, the radio, don’t read the papers, don’t listen to everybody telling you how great you are because we haven’t done a d— thing yet. We have to win another game to be world champions.”

A total team effort like the Game 4 performance would certainly enhance Denver’s prospects.

The Nuggets stymied the scrappy Heat with a trio of 20-plus point scorers, led by Aaron Gordon (game-high 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists), Jokic (23 points, 12 rebounds, four assists) and Brown (21 points), who came off the bench to rack up 11 points in the final frame on 4-for-5 shooting. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope drilled a 27-footer with 1:49 remaining to put Denver ahead by 14 during an 8-0 run that sent Heat fans scrambling for the exits at Kaseya Center.

The outburst came in response to Miami starting the fourth quarter on its own 8-0 run to chop a 13-point Nuggets lead to six with 8:42 left. During the Heat rally, Jokic left the game after officials called the center for his fifth foul just two minutes and 36 seconds into the quarter. Jokic was whistled for his fourth and fifth fouls over a span of 17 seconds.

“Usually, in the regular season when Nikola went out, things kind of went haywire,” Malone admitted.

Not this time, though. Brown, Gordon, Caldwell-Pope and Jamal Murray wouldn’t let that take place in combining for 19 of Denver’s 22 points in the fourth quarter. Murray and Gordon came together for five dimes in the fourth quarter and 18 for the game. In fact, the Nuggets shot 12-for-19 off Murray’s passes, including 7-for-11 from 3-point range.

Murray ranks as just the fourth player behind Jimmy Butler, LeBron James and Jayson Tatum over the last 25 years to assist on 7 or more 3-pointers in a Finals contest.

The Nuggets also limited Butler and Bam Adebayo, Miami’s deadliest threats, to 3-for-8 shooting in a fourth quarter, where the Heat finished a collective 7-for-19 from the field and 1-for-5 from 3-point range.

“If Jokic goes out, we’ve got five other guys on the court,” Murray said. “If I go out, same thing. Everybody is just playing for each other. Everyone that got in the game tonight hooped. All our vets gave good energy on the bench and told us to stay locked in. It was a great team effort today.”

And now, the Top 5 in our 2023 Race to the NBA Finals MVP Ladder after Game 4:

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1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last ranking: No. 1

NBA Finals stats: 30.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists

The first player in NBA history to tally 250-plus rebounds and 150-plus assists in a single postseason, Jokic battled as a scorer and on the glass. But the Heat worked to limit Jokic’s impact as a playmaker, and the center finished with just four assists. Two early fouls in the fourth quarter sent Jokic to the bench with 9:24 left to play, and he didn’t return until the 4:09 mark when the Nuggets led by nine points. Jokic suffered what appeared to be a right ankle injury in the first quarter after landing awkwardly on the foot of Max Strus, but the center walked back to the locker room and returned after an athletic trainer re-taped the ankle. Denver was plus-nine with the 28-year-old on the floor, and plus-four during the non-Jokic minutes. “It’s still one win,” said Jokic, who also contributed three blocks and three steals. “We need to win one more.”

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2. Aaron Gordon, Denver Nuggets

Last ranking: Not ranked

NBA Finals stats: 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists

Coming off a Game 3 in which he contributed 11 points and a playoff season-high tying 10 rebounds for his fifth career postseason double-double, Gordon took control of Game 4 in the second quarter, carrying Denver during the non-Jokic minutes. The 27-year-old poured in 15 of his 16 first-half points in the second quarter, drilling 6 of 7 from the field and 2 of 2 from downtown with Jokic off the floor for nearly five minutes. When Miami’s switches left a smaller guard defending Gordon, the power forward made the Heat pay. Gordon posted playoff career-highs for points (27) and first-half scoring. When Gordon wasn’t filling it up, he proved deadly as a facilitator. Sure, we know about his lockdown defense. But the Nuggets now own a record of 5-0 in these playoffs when Gordon dishes four assists or more. “Sometimes it’s not going to be your night, and sometimes it is going to be your night,” he said.

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3. Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

Last ranking: No. 2

NBA Finals stats: 23.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 10.5 assists

Blitzed on pick and rolls and trapped for much of the night, Murray struggled with his shot through the first three quarters but still finished 2 of 3 from 3-point range. Miami failed to minimize the point guard’s impact as a playmaker, even after Jokic left the floor early in the fourth quarter because the point guard kept his cool under pressure. Already the first player to record at least 10 assists in each of his first three career NBA Finals appearances, Murray hit double digits again with 12 dimes Friday to make it four in a row. By the way, Murray accomplished that feat with no turnovers, joining Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy as the only players in NBA history to ring up 10 or more assists in at least four consecutive games of the NBA Finals. Interestingly, Murray tallied just six 10-assist nights during the regular season, never doing it in more than two straight contests throughout his career.

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4. Bruce Brown, Denver Nuggets

Last ranking: Not ranked

NBA Finals stats: 11.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists

Brown lit up Miami with confidence in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of his 21 points off the bench over that critical span. The 21 points represented the most Brown scored this postseason since a 25-point performance in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against Phoenix. “We knew they were going to trap Jamal and try to get the ball out of his hands,” Brown said. “So, the other four guys were going to have to make plays, and then luckily it was just my time in the fourth quarter.” Brown scored just five points in the first half to go with a blocked shot, contributing five more points in the third quarter before his outburst in the fourth. Talk about a valuable free-agent signing for the Nuggets.

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5. Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

Last ranking: No. 3

NBA Finals stats: 21.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists

Butler exited the locker room a little earlier than his teammates after intermission to hoist up some free throws after hitting just 1 of 3 from the charity stripe in an otherwise strong first half. Butler knocked down 6 of 9 from the floor to start this one with 14 points, five assists and three rebounds, scoring seven of Miami’s last 10 points in an opening quarter that the Heat closed on a 10-2 run. Butler would finish with a team-high 25 points as he and Adebayo combined for 45 points, while the rest of the team chipped in 50. Miami has been down 3-1 twice in the NBA Finals (2013-14 and 2019-20) and lost both series. “Now we are in a must-win situation every game,” Butler said. “Some correctible things we’ve got to do, but it’s not impossible. We’ve got three to get.”

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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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