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Nuggets defeat Heat in NBA Finals rematch after Thomas Bryant receives championship ring mid-suspension

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One of the enduring memories from the 2023 NBA Finals for Nuggets fans will always be Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray matching each other with 30-point triple-doubles in a clutch Game 3 win.

Eight months later, in their first rematch against the Miami Heat since that series, the Nuggets had to survive a half without Murray, who sprained his right ankle landing on teammate Aaron Gordon in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Jokic’s recent super-efficient stretch of games was encountering an obstacle as he shot 6 for 15 from the floor.

So the defending champs instead found life for most of the night in Michael Porter Jr., the sharpshooter who couldn’t buy a bucket in his first career NBA Finals. Porter amassed 30 points and 11 rebounds along with impressive defensive activity in a 103-97 win Thursday night at Ball Arena.

“It was a great series. … I was just looking forward to the rematch,” Porter said. “I’m so far past a bad shooting stretch in the Finals.”

The Heat trailed 94-81 with 5:19 remaining, but Terry Rozier’s shot-making helped close the gap in clutch time. After a Jokic offensive foul in the last minute with a four-point lead, Jimmy Butler scored with 10.7 seconds left to cut the deficit to 99-97. Denver wasn’t in the bonus yet, so Michael Malone used a timeout to advance the ball after Miami fouled. Jokic made a pair of foul shots to double the lead and finish the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. He came up short of joining rare company with a fifth consecutive triple-double.

“Very reminiscent of our Finals games,” Malone said.

Aaron Gordon added 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals, powering his way through the Miami frontcourt during a key stretch early in the fourth quarter as Denver (41-19) was seeking insurance on a lead that had been slimmed to two the previous frame. Gordon helped get it back to 15 before the Heat made the late push.

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