Even after double-digit loss to open NBA Finals, Heat still confident: ‘It’s the first to four’

Not all playoff losses are the same. Some losses expose weaknesses and issues that just aren’t solvable, while others provide hope that a bounce-back performance is on deck.

Miami Heat players left Ball Arena after Thursday night’s 104-93 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals confident that they can be better and will be better in Game 2 on Sunday, and eager to redeem themselves. The Nuggets hold a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 championship series.

“I’m sure if we could tip off in 20 minutes again, we would,” forward Caleb Martin said, with the Heat facing a series deficit for the first time in this year’s playoffs. “That’s how bad that we probably want that game back. But at this point, it is what it is. You learn from it. That’s the beauty of the playoffs, it’s the first to four.”

The source of the Heat’s confidence after Thursday’s double-digit loss, which it trailed by as many as 24 points in? A second half that the Heat won 51-45.

The Heat recorded 14 assists on 21 made baskets and shot 9 of 22 (40.9 percent) from three-point range in the second of Game 1. The Nuggets shot 15 of 37 (40.5 percent) from the field and 3 of 16 (18.8 percent) on threes in the final two quarters.

“As you saw in the second half, I think we were a totally different team,” Martin continued. “That’s the beauty of it. We’ll just start stacking quarters and build off that second half.”

Among the issues from Game 1 that the Heat is hopeful will be better in Game 2:

▪ The Nuggets totaled 32 paint points in the first half of Game 1, mostly with their off-ball movement and sharp entry passes into the paint. Denver’s two-time MVP center Nikola Jokic recorded five assists that resulted in either a dunk or layup in the first half.

But the Heat held the Nuggets to just 14 paint points in the second half, upping the physicality against Denver’s impressive size and length while jamming up the paint with extra defenders.

“They’re a passing and cutting team, but also they are an aggressive team, and so are we,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I think the disposition, the efforts were more appropriate in the second half. But that’s not enough. It has to be for a full game, and you also have to make some plays when you’re beat.

“The plays in between; it’s not always going to happen perfectly. It’s not always going to happen based on the scheme. That’s the nature of our team, is we find a way to compete and overcome whatever it is. We need a lot more of that in Game 2.”

The Heat has been among the NBA’s best at limiting opportunities around the rim this season, and the Nuggets have been among the best at generating shots around the rim. Denver’s ability to create shots around the basket was apparent in the first half Thursday, but Miami’s ability to deter teams from the rim was on display in the second half.

“I feel like early in the game, miscommunications caused a lot of our guys to not talk enough,” said Heat center Bam Adebayo, who scored a team-high 26 points on a career-high 25 field-goal attempts in the Game 1 loss. “Miscommunications, and a lot of guys were open in the first half. I feel like going into the second half, we definitely got better with the cadence and talked through it more.”

▪ The Heat, which entered shooting an NBA-best 39 percent from three-point range in the playoffs, shot just 7 of 27 (25.9 percent) on threes through the first three quarters. Miami closed the game 13 of 39 (33.3 percent) from deep after getting hot in the fourth quarter.

Max Strus ended Game 1 scoreless. He missed all 10 of his field-goal attempts, including all nine of his three-point attempts but came away confident that he and the team will shoot better from beyond the arc if given the same type of opportunities Sunday.

The Heat shot just 5 of 16 (31.3 percent) on wide open threes (defined as when the closest defender is more than six feet away), according to NBA tracking data.

“We got great looks,” Strus said. “I’m happy with where we’re at. We’ll make some more adjustments and be ready for Game 2.”

The only players to finish a Finals game with zero made threes after putting up at least nine three-point attempts are Stephen Curry for the Golden State Warriors last season and John Starks for the New York Knicks in 1994.

Also, Duncan Robinson shot just 1 of 5 on threes for the Heat in Game 1.

“The looks that we got, the shots that we missed, I think it’s kind of laughable,” said Martin, who shot 1 of 2 on threes but just 1 of 7 from the field on Thursday. “We’re much better shooters than what we shot tonight. So not too worried.”

▪ Heat star Jimmy Butler entered the NBA Finals averaging 28.5 points per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the field. But Butler contributed just 13 points on 14 shots in Game 1 for his lowest-scoring performance of this year’s playoffs.

Butler only took two shots off eight drives to the basket on Thursday, instead settling for nine jumpers. For perspective, Butler entered the Finals averaging 8.5 shots off 17.8 drives to the basket per game in the playoffs.

As a result, Butler finished with zero free throw attempts in a game on Thursday for just the second time this season.

The Heat was outscored by the Nuggets 16-2 at the foul line in Game 1. Miami shot just two free throws in the loss, setting a new NBA record for the fewest free-throw attempts by a team in a playoff game

“Maybe I have to be a little bit more aggressive,” Butler said. “I’ve got to put pressure on the rim. Me with no free throws, that was all on myself, nobody else. So we’ll definitely correct that the next game, but only I can do that.”

But even fixing those issues doesn’t guarantee a win for the Heat against the Nuggets’ droning excellence.

After all, Denver didn’t play its best game Thursday either and still won comfortably. The Nuggets shot just 8 of 27 (29.6 percent) from three-point range in Game 1, improving to 7-8 when shooting less than 30 percent on threes this season.

“You don’t expect it to be easy when you get to this final round,” Spoelstra said. “This is a great challenge. It’s going to require more. We will get to work and see what we can do better, what we can do harder, what we can do with more effort, what we can do with more focus.”

More is what the Heat expects from itself and more is what the Nuggets expect from the Heat in Game 2 in Denver before the series moves to Miami.

“What’s it going to take on Sunday night?” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, repeating the reporter’s question before giving his answer. “They’re going to come out and try to jump all over us and take control of the series and that game early on, and we have to be ready for that.”