2024-03-14 08:26:42
Miami (AFP)
Michael Porter Jr. led his “defending champion” Denver Nuggets team to victory over its host Miami Heat 100-88, and regained the lead in the Western Conference in the NBA, by scoring 25 points.
The visitors led for most of the first half, and Miami came back in the third quarter, before Denver regained the lead and decided the match in its favor.
Despite the victory, Serbian giant Nikola Jokic was unable to score more than 12 points, in light of the great defense from the hosts, but this opened spaces for Porter Jr., who scored 5 three-pointers out of his 25 points.
Porter Jr. said that his amazing performance came thanks to his teammates who gave him time and space to shoot comfortably.
He added, “Did you see the shooting opportunities I had? The chances to score three-pointers were wide open, so the credit goes to my teammates. We have a good and balanced team, so when you take something from it, the solution exists. This is what happened.”
Denver achieved its 46th win this season, and its fourth in a row against 20 losses, ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder II, who won 45 games against 20 losses. This is the first time that the defending champion has topped the standings since November.
Porter commented on regaining the lead, saying, “It feels good,” adding, “We feel as if we are back where we belong. We wanted first place, and we have been playing well since the league stopped to make way for the All-Star match.”
He added, “But we have to maintain the lead. There are many good teams in the Western Region, so we have to go into every match knowing that the competitors want our position.”
In addition to his points, Aaron Gordon with 16 points and Canadian Jamal Murray with 14 helped him achieve victory, while Bam Adebayo was the best scorer for Miami with 17 points.
Miami suffered its fourth loss in a row, ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference, and this is the 30th loss this season, compared to 35 wins.
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