The Miami Heat were pretty much considered done in their NBA Finals series against the Denver Nuggets following a dominant Game 1 performance that saw Denver completely command every aspect of the game.
Game 2 in Denver was supposed to be the same, and it was teetering on another Nuggets win before the fourth quarter started.
Then, the Heat got hot and used a 68.8% shooting fourth quarter to come back and clinch the improbable Game 2 victory to even the NBA Finals 1-1.
Heat superstar Jimmy Butler scored 21 points to go alone with 9 assists in 40 minutes of play.
“I just think nobody cares on our team,” Butler said, according to ESPN’s Nick Friedell. “We’re not worried about what anybody thinks. We’re so focused in on what we do well and who we are as a group that at the end of the day, that’s what we fall back on. Make or miss shots, we’re going to be who we are because we’re not worried about anybody else. That’s how it’s been all year long, and that’s not going to change. So that’s what I think it is. I think it’s the ‘I don’t give a damn’ factor.”
Butler and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra have repeatedly praised their tough-minded group for their ability to deal, and often times overcome, tough situations, and Spoelstra spoke about that during the post game presser that made sports social media headlines.
“We faced a lot of adversity during the season,” Spoelstra said following the Game 2 win. “We handled it the right way where you are not making excuses about it, the injuries, the changing lineups. Because of all that adversity and the 57 close games that happened, due to a lot of that, it hardened us. It steeled us, and we developed some grit, which is what we all want.
“We want to be able to have that privilege of having adversity and being able to overcome it. You gain strength from that. But this is a very tough opponent. They have our full respect, for sure.”
Miami was led by the hot shooting of Gabe Vincent, who scored a team-high 23 points including several key shots to lead the Heat when Butler was struggling to find his offensive rhythm until late in the game.
“It’s just part of our DNA, for one,” Vincent said. “You know, everyone on this team has battled through adversity in some manner and been knocked down and had to get back up. And for No. 2, we have a lot of experience in these close games. So when it comes down to the wire, we are strangely comfortable.”
Vincent has been a critical part of the Heat’s run, showing just how successful undrafted players can be in the NBA.
“Undrafted players can start in the Finals,” Heat big man Bam Adebayo said of Vincent. “It doesn’t mean anything that he’s undrafted. He’s giving guys who are going through his path or down that road of, you’re not this, you’re not that, you’re not this, and he’s carving a space for himself. I feel like a lot of people are going to know who Gabe Vincent is.”
“Biggest thing for us, we heard the noise throughout the whole playoffs,” Adebayo said. “Biggest thing for us, we had the will and we had the belief, and we keep finding ways to win.”
