The Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets will square off in Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Finals on Wednesday night as the series shifts to Miami. The Heat evened up the series after outlasting the Denver Nuggets in a 111-108 win in Game 2 on Sunday. The Nuggets led for most of the game, but the Heat used a 36-25 fourth quarter to come away with a win and head back to Miami with some momentum.
Gabe Vincent led the way for Miami with 23 points, and while Nikola Jokic dropped 41 points, it wasn't enough to get the win. After losing home-court advantage, the Nuggets will try to get a better handle defensively, while the Heat will look to implement the same game plan that got them a win Sunday night.
Ahead of the action, here's all you need to know for Wednesday's Game 3:
Denver Nuggets vs. Miami Heat
- Date: Wednesday, June 7 | Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Kaseya Center -- Miami
- TV channel: ABC | Live stream: fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Nuggets -2.5; O/U 215.5 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Storylines
Nuggets: While Jokic did exactly what you want your star player and two-time MVP to do by putting up 41 points, it's not exactly the Nuggets at their best. It's also not Jokic at his best, whose unique skillset of passing, scoring and rebounding makes him a nightmare to plan for. The Joker only had four assists in Game 2, but that's not for a lack of trying, his teammates just couldn't knock down shots as the Heat stayed home on shooters. Aside from Jamal Murray's 18 points, no other Nuggets player reached 13 points, a reversal of fortunes from Game 1. Denver isn't going to win many games if role players aren't able to get going around Jokic, and now would be an ideal time for someone like Michael Porter Jr. to step up. There will surely be adjustments for Game 3, primarily to ensure Murray isn't getting blitzed by the defense, but everyone else needs to step up, too.
Heat: After a poor shooting performance in Game 1, the Heat came back and shot 48.6% from 3-point range to beat the Nuggets. It's been a storyline throughout these playoffs for the Heat, who often lose when the 3 ball isn't falling, and win when it is. So far the good shooting performances have outweighed the bad for Miami, but we'll have to see if it's enough to beat the Nuggets three more times. Denver will respond by tightening up its perimeter defense, because there were too many times where a Heat player was left relatively open for an easy look from beyond the arc. If the Nuggets manage to run Miami off the 3-point line, we'll have to see how Erik Spoelstra and the Heat adjust.
Prediction
The Heat made great adjustments in Game 2 to even up this series. I suspect the Nuggets will do the same to get a win in Game 3. I'm picking Denver here, but with the game-to-game adjustments happening I see this series going a lot longer than I originally anticipated. Pick: Nuggets -2.5
