The Miami Heat’s unprecedented resiliency evens odds with Denver Nuggets.
On paper, the Denver Nuggets are supposed to win the 2023 NBA Championship. When stacked up against the Miami Heat, they have the better superstar, the better supporting cast, and have been the more dominant team throughout the NBA Playoffs. And through three quarters of Game 2, with already a 1-0 series lead, everything was going to script for the Nuggets.
Denver was just 12 minutes away from taking a commanding 2-0 series lead and perhaps on their way to another dominating series performance. However, something happened during that fourth quarter break. It was almost as if something flipped.
Miami began the fourth quarter with resiliency that they’ve successfully showcased throughout their unlikely run to the NBA Finals. The Heat outscored the Nuggets by 11 points to steal homecourt advantage and to tie the series at one game apiece as the series now shifts to Miami.
It was the first loss that the Nuggets had suffered at home this postseason and nearly their first loss in about a month.
This win for the Heat was not uncommon for Miami fans or those that have been paying attention to the Heat throughout this run. This was the seventh time this postseason that the Heat has come back from 12-plus points down.
The Heat have come back from 12+ points 7 times during this playoff run.
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) June 5, 2023
That's more than the rest of the NBA COMBINED this postseason. pic.twitter.com/MQFV1kpbhl
What the Heat did to the Nuggets is something that they did so often against the Milwaukee Bucks in round 1, the New York Knicks in round 2, and then against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Many questioned if they would be able to do it in the NBA Finals against a team playing as well as the Nuggets, and they did. Once.
The big question is whether they can continue to play at such a high level that leads them to pull off such unprecedented feats. If they want to beat the Nuggets in such a high-stakes series, they’ll have to prove to be the better team three more times.
That may seem overwhelming. It may appear to be too much. Then again, I’m not sure anyone could’ve envisioned this team being just three wins away from winning an NBA Championship even after winning Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks. Or even after taking a 3-1 series lead over the Bucks. Or even when the Heat took a 3-0 lead over the Boston Celtics – in all those circumstances, there were many that believed the Heat would “regress to the mean.
How could you blame them? The Heat is an 8th seed. They shouldn’t be in this position. Somehow, they are.
The question is, can they finish the job? Will their unprecedented resiliency from the Heat result in an NBA championship?