NBA Game Notes (June 12, 2023)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on June 12, 2023.
Nuggets Edge Heat, Win First Title
The Denver Nuggets won their first NBA title in franchise history, edging the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 of the Finals. The Nuggets became the second former ABA franchise to win an NBA title, joining the San Antonio Spurs (five championships).
Finals MVP Nikola Jokic led the way, recording game highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds. Jokic made 12 of his 16 shots from the floor, becoming the first player in NBA history to score at least 25 points on 75% shooting from the field in a Finals-clinching win.
Jokic produced at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in each game of the Finals. He’s just the fourth player in NBA history to record five such games in a row to start his Finals career, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Jokic averaged 30.2 PPG, 14.0 RPG, and 7.2 APG in the Finals. He’s just the fifth player in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG, 10 RPG, and 5 APG in a Finals series (a total of six instances):
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1974)
Hakeem Olajuwon (1995)
LeBron James (2015, 2017)
Giannis Antetokounmpo (2021)
Nikola Jokic (2023)
Jokic is the first center to take home the Finals MVP Award since Shaquille O’Neal in 2002. He’s just the fifth foreign-born player to win the award, joining Hakeem Olajuwon (1994, 1995), Tony Parker (2007), Dirk Nowitzki (2011), and Giannis Antetokounmpo (2021).
Jokic finished first among all players in the 2023 NBA Playoffs in points (600), rebounds (269), and assists (190). He’s the first player in NBA history to be the leader in all three categories in a single postseason.
Jokic nearly averaged a 30-point triple-double in the postseason, recording figures of 30.0 PPG, 13.5 RPG, and 9.5 APG. He’s one of only five players in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG, 10 RPG, and 5 APG in a postseason, and one of only two players to do so twice:
Oscar Robertson (1963)
LeBron James (2015)
Russell Westbrook (2017)
Giannis Antetokounmpo (2021, 2022)
Nikola Jokic (2022, 2023)
The second member of the Nuggets’ dynamic duo, Jamal Murray, tallied 14 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Murray averaged 21.4 PPG and 10.0 APG in the Finals, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 20 PPG and 10 APG in a Finals series (a total of six instances):
Magic Johnson (1987, 1988)
Michael Jordan (1991)
LeBron James (2017, 2018)
Jamal Murray (2023)
Murray finished the postseason with averages of 26.1 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 7.1 APG. Jokic and Murray became the first duo in NBA history to each average at least 25 PPG, 5 RPG, and 5 APG in a postseason.
Nuggets rookie Christian Braun became just the fifth player in history to win an NCAA title and an NBA title in consecutive years, joining Bill Russell (1956 & 1957), Henry Bibby (1972 & 1973), Magic Johnson (1979 & 1980), and Billy Thompson (1986 & 1987).
The Heat’s Jimmy Butler scored a team-high 21 points in the loss, but shot just 5-18 from the field (27.8%). Butler also dished out a team-high five assists and recorded a game-high three steals.
Heat center Bam Adebayo recorded a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds. However, Adebayo scored just two of his points after halftime, hitting only one of his seven shots from the floor.
The Nuggets played 46 seasons before winning their first NBA title, the most by any franchise prior to their first championship. The previous mark of 45 seasons was held by the Cleveland Cavaliers (2016).
The Nuggets finished these playoffs with a record of 16-4 (.800). Since the NBA expanded the First Round to best-of-seven series in 2003, only one team* has finished a postseason with a higher winning percentage: the 2017 Golden State Warriors (16-1, .941).
* The 2007 San Antonio Spurs also had a postseason record of 16-4.