Kevin Love made his first appearance in the NBA Finals for the Miami Heat in Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets, helping Miami to a 111-108 victory and tying the series at 1-1. Love had six points and 10 rebounds, but it was Miami’s added size that helped combat Denver’s offense. Gabe Vincent scored a team-high 23 points, while Duncan Robinson scored eight points in the first minute of the fourth quarter to help Miami reverse the game’s script. Both teams overcame double-digit deficits to wrangle horns after intermission, with Miami’s defense increasing its physicality against Denver’s Nikola Jokić.
As mentioned in a news article on Yahoo Sports, Kevin Love finally made an appearance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, helping the Miami Heat even the series against the Denver Nuggets at 1-1. Love, who had been sitting on the sideline for the past few games, was called upon to add some size to the Heat’s lineup and help combat the Nuggets’ swirling offense.
Despite not being the answer to slow down Nikola Jokić, who finished with a superb 41 points and 11 rebounds, Love’s added size helped spread the floor even further for the Heat’s own pass-happy scoring attack. Miami’s shooters combined to connect on 17-of-35 3-pointers in the 111-108 victory over the Nuggets.
Max Strus, who had missed all 10 of his attempts from the field in Game 1, drilled his first three triples in the early going. Gabe Vincent, the Heat’s standout point guard, connected on 4-of-6 from beyond the arc en route to a team-high 23 points. Duncan Robinson scored 8 points in the first minute of the fourth quarter to help Miami reverse the first-half story of bench units clawing away at a lead and flipping the game’s script.
Both teams overcame double-digit deficits to wrangle horns after intermission, when the pace slowed, like a car’s tires trudging through mud, where this Miami team has thrived all postseason long. There was a palpable increase of physicality throughout the Heat defense, most notably with Bam Adebayo muscling against Jokić’s bruising bulldozes through the paint.
Miami risked getting picked apart by Jokić’s passing as they did in Game 1, when the two-time MVP peppered 14 assists. This affair, this second half, the Heat sent second defender after second defender at Jokić at the elbows and on the blocks. Denver’s supporting cast of shooters, when the ball did swing their direction, couldn’t capitalize.
The Heat missed just one shot in the first 7 minutes of the final frame, storming on a 12-4 run capped by Adebayo’s and-1 layup, which matched the Heat’s largest lead from the first quarter, a 104-93 advantage.
Love may not have been Miami’s leading scorer, but his presence on the court helped the Heat even the series against the Nuggets. With Game 3 looming, it will be interesting to see if Love will be called upon once again to add some size and spread the floor for the Heat’s shooters.
