MIAMI (AP) Get this series back to the 305. That’s what Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra repeated fervently after a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night left them once again facing elimination.
The Denver Nuggets' playoff run has been fueled by the two-man game of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Their unusual way of executing the pick and roll has been virtually unstoppable. The Nuggets do it differently than standard-bearers Karl Malone and John Stockton. Malone always set the picks for Stockton back when the Utah Jazz teammates were befuddling opponents with their play. Jokic and Murray run more of an ambidextrous pick and roll, with both guard and big man setting picks and sharing shots. The Miami Heat expect to see more of it in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.
The highlight of Game 1 for Jamal Murray came when he dribbled into the middle, planted his surgically repaired left knee in the paint, made a full clockwise turn, then faded away and swished a mid-range jumper. His most important contribution to Denver’s first win in the franchise’s first appearance in the NBA Finals well, take your pick. Murray finished with 26 points and 10 assists to help the Nuggets to a 104-93 win over the Miami Heat. In his 49 career playoff games, Murray has averaged 27.6 points, which is 33 percent more than he scores in the regular season.
The Air Force has announced the permanent location for many more U.S. Space Force units and none of them are in Huntsville, Alabama. This suggests the service may be moving ahead with at least part of the design it originally sought for the new force before it became entangled in politics. Four more Space Force missions will now be based in Colorado Springs, a notable choice during a larger and now politicized battle over where to locate the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command. Colorado Springs, which is housing Space Command’s temporary headquarters, was the Air Force’s preferred location. But Donald Trump, in the final days of his presidency, selected Alabama instead.
The NBA Finals will end in six games. At least, that’s what history says. Out of the first 76 editions of the NBA Finals the 77th title series starts Thursday night in Denver when the Nuggets play host to the Miami Heat the series has ended in six games 30 times. That’s by far the most common outcome. The title series has gone to Game 7 on 19 occasions, ended in five games on 18 occasions and wound up as a four-game sweep only nine times.