Miami Heat evens NBA Finals series, 1-1, with a thrilling victory over the Denver Nuggets, final score 111-108.
The Nuggets, undefeated at home during the playoffs, suffered their first loss in front of their home crowd.
Gabe Vincent took charge by scoring 23 points, leading the pack among the five Heat players who reached double figures. In addition, Jimmy Butler contributed 21 points and an impressive nine assists.
The game started with Miami taking an early lead thanks to Max Strus' impressive three-point shooting, redeeming himself after a poor performance in Game 1.
However, Denver's Nikola Jokić showed his dominance by scoring 11 points and delivering a spectacular alley-oop pass to Aaron Gordon.
Despite their efforts, Denver finished the first quarter trailing by only three points, 26-23.
Denver's bench players came into the game with great energy, with rookie Christian Braun making an immediate impact with steals and points.
Jeff Green's three-pointer gave Denver a four-point lead, and more three-pointers from Bruce Brown and Aaron Gordon, along with a powerful dunk from Jamal Murray, gave Denver their first double-digit lead.
Miami fought back admirably and closed the gap to trail 57-51 at halftime.
The second half began with Miami hitting three consecutive three-pointers, bringing the game within two points and forcing a timeout from Denver's coach at the 9:21 mark of the third quarter.
Jokić took matters into his own hands and scored 10 points in the final five minutes of the quarter, giving Denver an 83-75 lead heading into the fourth.
Duncan Robinson's entry into the fourth quarter ignited Miami's offense, as he hit two crucial three-pointers and made two finishes at the rim.
Miami took an 88-85 lead after a 13-2 run.
Despite Jokić's outstanding performance, scoring a total of 37 points, Miami extended their lead to nine points with just over four minutes left on the clock.
Murray's layup, followed by two three-pointers, brought Denver within three points.
Denver was forced to foul Miami's Bam Adebayo, who made both free throws to make it a five-point game.
Murray attempted a stepback three-pointer to tie the game but narrowly missed.
