Michael Malone faced a good problem after the Nuggets beat the Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets coach had just one Defensive Player of the Game chain to hand out and a few deserving candidates after Denver downed Miami, 104-93, Thursday at Ball Arena.

Aaron Gordon started as the primary defender on Jimmy Butler. The Heat star started the Finals averaging more than 28 points per game in the playoffs and finished Game 1 with 13 points on 14 shots.

“I thought he did a hell of a job taking on that challenge of guarding a guy like Jimmy Butler,” Malone said. “But I felt as a group, a collective unit, I felt our guys did a hell of a job, as well.”

Michael Porter Jr. recorded a pair of big blocks in the first quarter. First, he navigated a pick-and-roll play between Butler and Miami center Bam Adebayo. When Butler dribbled to the right toward the middle of the court, Porter fought under the screen and used his 7-foot wingspan to close the gap and stuff Butler’s pull-up jumper from 13 feet out and closed the sequence with a defensive rebound, one of his 12 boards on the night.

Roughly a minute later, Porter found himself one-on-one with Caleb Martin, one of Miami’s postseason stars, on the right wing. Martin’s first step was slightly quicker than Porter’s, but the Nuggets forward funneled the driver toward Nikola Jokic. When Martin took a step to the right to avoid Jokic, Porter made up whatever ground he lost and swatted the shot off the backboard. Martin finished 1 of 7 from the field, a sign that the days of Porter being considered a defensive liability appear to be in the past.

“We’re past the point of praising Michael when he has a good defensive game,” Malone said.

Then, there was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. One of Denver’s best two-way performers, Caldwell-Pope started the game on Max Strus, who missed all 10 of his shots including nine 3-pointers. Gordon blocked one of those 3s, while Bruce Brown and Jeff Green did well to contest his final shot just before the end of the third quarter.

“It was great,” Brown said of the team defense. “Everybody was on a string. Everybody knew what we were supposed to be doing.”

Denver’s collective effort on defense held the Heat to 20 points in the first quarter, 22 in the third and 21 in the third. Even a 30-point fourth quarter wasn’t enough to get Miami over 100 points. The Heat finished with a 40.6 field goal percentage and a 13-for-39 mark (33.3%) from 3. The Nuggets also defended without fouling, finishing the game with a 20-to-2 advantage in free throws. Haywood Highsmith took Miami’s only free throws, which set a new playoff record for the fewest attempts in a single game.

“Probably the most impressive defensive stat was only two free throw attempts,” Malone said.

“We know Jimmy Butler is one of the best in the business at getting to the foul line, so two free throw attempts. I thought our guys did a great job of defending without fouling.”

The gold chain with a big pendant featuring the Nuggets’ logo was Gordon’s in the postgame locker room, but he thought it could’ve gone elsewhere.

“Defensive Player of the Game could have gone to Michael Porter, too. He really stepped up on the defensive end,” Gordon said.

“We’re switching a lot. Everybody is helping. We’re shrinking. We’re stunting for the stunter. It’s not just a one-on-one game.”

When Malone gifted Gordon the gaudy chain, the rest of the Nuggets started barking in appreciation of their top guard dog. The Nuggets coach then shouted out Porter’s effort, and his teammates showed their appreciation for his performance by recreating a scene from the movie ‘Finding Nemo.’ Instead of a bunch of hungry seagulls saying “Mine, mine, mine,” to a fish out of water, the Nuggets’ locker room provided a chorus of “Mike, Mike, Mike.”

“Huge shout-out to Mike. I’ve seen a few things of him not being a great defender, but he was great for us tonight, challenging at the rim, getting blocks and rebounding,” Brown said. “So, kudos to him.”

Malone handed out multiple chains at times throughout the season, but he never awarded more than a couple. After Game 1, he felt like he could’ve given it to all eight guys who played.

“Could have given it to the whole team tonight,” Malone said. “I thought a lot of guys had really good defensive games.”

Denver Nuggets forward Bruce Brown (11) steals the ball from Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette)

Timothy Hurst/Denver GazetteTimHursttim.hurst@gazette.com
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Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) blocks a shot by Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin (16) during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Timothy Hurst/Denver Gazette)

Timothy Hurst/Denver GazetteTimHursttim.hurst@gazette.com
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