Denver Nuggets win first NBA championship title in Game 5 victory over Miami Heat
Written by laserteam on June 13, 2023
(CNN) –
The Denver Nuggets won their first NBA championship Monday night, downing the Miami Heat 94-89 at Ball Arena in Denver to take Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Two-time MVP Nikola Jokić led the way for the Nuggets with a game-high 28 points and 16 rebounds.
“It was an amazing effort by the team,” he told ABC after the game. “It was an ugly game. We couldn’t make shots but at the end, we figured out how to defend.”
The Serbian big man was voted Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals, and is the first center to win the award named after the late Bill Russell since Shaquille O’Neal of the Lakers in 2002.
Hours after the game, at least nine people were injured in a mass shooting in downtown Denver, where crowds had gathered to celebrate the city’s first NBA championship.
