For Miami’s resilient underdogs, Jokić and the Nuggets are a bridge too far

F or a just minute or two early in the fourth quarter, it seemed possible, perhaps even probable. Nikola Jokić picked up a fifth personal foul and trudged to the bench. A double-digit deficit – the Miami Heat’s cue to spark into life throughout this unlikely playoff run – was quickly halved with a Jimmy Butler and-one.

The Heat’s Kaseya Center rose with expectation. They had seen this before; the sheer will of a Heat team that has defied conventional logic for two months. In the end though, their eighth-seeded team have met an obstacle they perhaps cannot overcome, even when tossing aside logic.

Jokić is the video game final boss nobody has figured out: the irresistible force and the immovable object combined. And this Denver Nuggets team, which found new and excruciating ways to hurt their opponent in Game 4 of the NBA finals, now seems insurmountable. They’re a mile high and then some.

Back-to-back convincing wins on the Heat’s home floor have given Denver a 3-1 lead with the series heading west on Monday for the first of the Nuggets’ three chances to clinch a first NBA title.

Miami gallantly chipped away for much of Game 4, scrapping for every single basket, just to remain within striking distance. Every stop on defense was a sheer labor; even more so than usual for a team that has thrived on the attritional elements of playoff basketball.

Schedule

Best-of-seven series. All times EDT. 

Thu 1 Jun Game 1: Nuggets 104, Heat 93 

Sun 4 Jun Game 2: Heat 111, Nuggets 108

Wed 7 Jun Game 3: Nuggets 109, Heat 94

Fri 9 Jun Game 4: Nuggets 108, Heat 95

Mon 12 Jun Game 5: Heat at Nuggets, 8.30pm (ABC)  

Thu 15 Jun Game 6: Nuggets at Heat, 8.30pm (ABC) * 

Sun 18 Jun Game 7: Heat at Nuggets, 8pm (ABC) * 

* if necessary

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