By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It looked like the Denver Nuggets had the Miami Heat handled in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Then suddenly but surely, the Miami Heat erupted for a fourth-quarter comeback to steal home court in the NBA Finals. Some may be panicking, but not Nuggets’ superstar Nikola Jokic.
“We just didn’t play the right way in the 4th quarter,” Jokic said about the fourth-quarter collapse.
When it comes to what the Miami Heat were doing specifically, one thing Jokic noted was Miami’s ability to punish Denver for making mistakes. There were moments when the Nuggets played very undisciplined basketball, and that’s something Jokic hopes will change in Game 3.
“Discipline is the key for us,” Jokic said. “They’re punishing you when you make mistakes.”
One thing that Jokic realized the Nuggets need to do better in Game 3 is to play faster, especially because of the zone defense that Miami was running.
“They just put us in their rhythm,” Jokic said. “We don’t want to play that way. They want to obviously.”
The Denver Nuggets enter Game 3 in incredibly unfamiliar territory in these NBA Playoffs. They’ve never gone on the road without having the luxury of being up 2-0 in a series, and they’ve never experienced what it’s like to be down in a series. All of that could change on Wednesday night for Game 3, or, Denver could take a 2-1 lead.