Audio By Carbonatix
The Denver Nuggets clinched their first NBA title as a 94-89 win over the Miami Heat sealed a 4-1 series triumph.
Nikola Jokic led his side to victory with 28 points to end the Nuggets 47-year wait for the championship trophy.
Serb Jokic, 28, was named the Finals' most valuable player to add to the two overall MVPs he won in 2021 and 2022.
"We're not in it for ourselves, we're in it for the guy next to us and that's why this [means] even more," Jokic said following victory at Ball Arena.
Jokic also contributed 16 rebounds, while Michael Porter Jr added 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Nuggets ground out the decisive victory in game five.
The Nuggets never lost more than twice in any of their play-off series, ending their march towards a historic success with 10 victories in their last 11 post-season games.
Denver trailed 71-70 at the start of the fourth quarter, and 89-88 with just under two minutes remaining, but the hosts would not be denied after they hit the front with a Bruce Brown lay-up.
For Miami, Jimmy Butler scored 21 points and Bam Adebayo 20 but they were unable to keep their hopes of an unlikely comeback alive.
Only one of the 36 teams to have previously fallen 3-1 behind in an NBA Finals - the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 - had managed to come back to win the championship.
"It was an amazing effort by the team," Jokic said.
"That is why basketball is a fun sport, it is a live thing, you cannot say this going to happen, there are so many factors.
"I'm just happy we won the game."
Nuggets coach Michael Malone told the home supporters: "I've got news for everyone out there. We are not satisfied with one."
Latest Stories
-
Ghana loses over GH¢4.5bn annually to traffic congestion, new study on urban mobility shows
7 minutes -
ADB unveils new corporate cloth, determines to dominate industry
16 minutes -
Peak Milk extends Ramadan support following courtesy visit to national Chief ImamÂ
23 minutes -
No solo bid for Ken Agyapong — Joojo Rocky Obeng dismisses ‘third force’ calls as politically ridiculous
28 minutes -
Today’s Front pages: Friday, February 13, 2026
1 hour -
5 arrested for open defecation at Osu Cemetery
1 hour -
A Home that Travels: How the Diaspora carries Pan-Africanism across borders
1 hour -
Obituary: Hon. Stanley Basil Bade Carboo
2 hours -
Government to absorb COCOBOD’s $150m losses as Cabinet directs immediate cocoa purchases – Finance Ministry
2 hours -
Mpraeso MP demands immediate probe and arrest over alleged exploitation of young Ghanaian women
2 hours -
‘No bed syndrome,’ and how a hit-and-run victim was refused emergency care by Ridge, Police, Korle Bu hospitals for close to 3 hours before he died
2 hours -
Give Love a second chance on Valentine’s Day – Counsellor PerfectÂ
2 hours -
GSS generates the numbers that drive national development – Government Statistician Dr Iddrisu
3 hours -
We are not policy advisers, we generate the data – Government Statistician clarifies GSS’ role
3 hours -
Golden Jubilee Sports Festival opens with call for discipline, unity
4 hours
