The Miami Heat are back on their home court for Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets Friday, just 48 hours after Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray etched themselves into history by becoming the first pair of teammates ever to record 30-point triple-doubles in the same game.
FanDuel sportsbook is giving all first-time bettors the chance to win up to $2,500 in bonus prizes by signing up with a FanDuel promo code before tip-off in Game 4 of the Heat vs. Nuggets Finals. The deal is only eligible for bettors that do not already have a FanDuel account.
The promo works by supplying bettors with up to $2,500 worth of first-bet insurance and will see them compensated with 100% of their stake (up to the maximum) if their first bet misses. All bonuses come in the form of bonus bets, which are credits that can be used to win cash prizes.
Full terms and conditions apply and can be seen on FanDuel.
Odds taken from FanDuel Sportsbook
Free play options
Special contests for newbies
Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins
21+ | Terms and conditions apply
The Heat got off to a strong start in Game 3 as they successfully carried their momentum from their Game 2 win onto their home court. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo played downhill and applied tons of pressure on the Denver interior to create easy shots, offensive rebounding opportunities, and open up kick-outs to shooters on the perimeter.
As the game progressed, Murray and Jokic began to assert themselves. The pair scored or assisted on 46 of Denver’s 53 first-half points and were totally unstoppable in the two-man game. The Heat countered by blitzing Murray whenever he was in the pick-and-roll, but he was still able to shred the defense and find open teammates, namely Christian Braun, who dominated the dunker spot in the second half.
Miami tried to wield its patented zone in the fourth quarter but could not do so to the same effect it had in the previous two games when it won the final period by 10 and 11 points. They still managed to go on a classic Miami run and brought the game from 19 points to just nine with a few minutes left, but the Nuggets made their free-throws and saw the game over the line without ever being seriously threatened.
There is no lede in sports greater than Jokic and Murray’s Game 3 performances. Jokic dropped an unbelievable 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists, making him the first player in Finals history with a 30/20/10 game, while Murray had 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. They also shot a combined 24-43 from the field and 4-8 from three in what has a great chance of being remembered as the greatest-ever Finals performance by a duo.
Christian Braun (15 points, four rebounds) was also excellent off the bench for Denver. He made a number of hustle plays and was brilliant cutting to the paint all night, and also provided a mini-scoring run in the fourth as Miami was building momentum and played solid defense on Jimmy Butler and other Heat players when asked. Aaron Gordon (11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) also had a very strong, well-balanced outing.
Butler led the way for the Heat with 28 points but only four rebounds and two assists and was not that impactful. Bam Adebayo had another strong showing with 22 points and 17 rebounds but was overshadowed by Jokic’s dominance. The Heat only made 11 threes and shot just over 31% from outside, which also did them no favors.
Going into Game 3, we made the case that the Nuggets had more to tap into than the Heat did. And while there were tactical adjustments made, we didn’t necessarily expect that reserve to be a pair of 30-point triple-doubles in the most important game of the year.
The Nuggets found more success against the zone than any team in the league during the regular season but struggled to find the same effect in the first couple of games of the series. That was not an issue in Game 3, even when one of Jokic or Murray wasn’t on the court. Miami now faces a crisis as it can’t defend either one of them straight up and may have lost its fastball that was the zone defense.
The Heat need to get up more three-pointers to match the Nuggets’ explosive scoring to have a chance in Game 4. They also need to do a better job protecting cuts to the paint and continue to hold the Nuggets out of their lethal transition game.
The Heat will win Game 4 if they get off to a hot start and can force the ball out of the Denver stars’ hands. They did that by blitzing Murray in the pick-and-roll and denying Jokic an entry pass by running a 2-1-2 zone in their Game 2 win but could not recreate that success in Game 3.
The Nuggets are the more talented team by quite some margin. They can only let themselves down if they are outworked and outthought by Miami, otherwise, they have a very clear path to victory. Murray and Jokic will be on tired legs but have to suck it up now that they are just two wins away from their franchise’s first-ever championship.
While there was some optimism the Heat could get a split at home, it will be much tougher after seeing how they were just brutalized in Game 3. The Nuggets’ supporting cast also has lots of room to improve, which is a very scary prospect for Heat fans.
Free play options
Special contests for newbies
Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins
21+ | Terms and conditions apply
🔥 Claimed by 66 people this week!
No bet-throughs required
Lots of sport-specific promos
Promo code 'WSN1000'
$1,000 First Bet on Caesars OR $250 in Bonus Bets
21+ | T&Cs Apply. Gambling problem? Call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.
We support responsible gambling. Gambling can be addictive, please play responsibly. If you need help, call 1-800-Gambler.
WSN.com is managed by Gentoo Media. Unless declared otherwise, all of the visible content on this site, such as texts and images, including the brand name and logo, belongs to Innovation Labs Limited (a Gentoo Media company) - Company Registration Number C44130, VAT ID: MT18874732, @GIG Beach Triq id-Dragunara, St. Julians, STJ3148, Malta.
Advertising Disclosure: WSN.com contains links to partner websites. When a visitor to our website clicks on one of these links and makes a purchase at a partner site, World Sports Network is paid a commission.
Copyright © 2024