Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle described Pascal Siakam's performance as "tremendous" after he notched his first triple-double in 15 months to help end the Philadelphia 76ers' six-game winning run.

Philadelphia arrived at Gainbridge Fieldhouse looking to close the gap on the Eastern Conference leaders, the Boston Celtics, with a seventh straight win. However, Siakam took centre-stage in a 134-122 home victory.

Siakam finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double with Indiana, who never trailed at any point in the game.

The victory came on the same night as Tyrese Haliburton was announced as a first-time All-Star starter, and just three days after reigning MVP Joel Embiid had a 76ers-record 70 points in a win over the San Antonio Spurs.

"We made it our kind of game," Pacers coach Carlisle said after seeing his team improve to 25-20.

"Siakam was obviously tremendous, the sixth triple-double of his career, his first, obviously, with the Pacers. When you have a power forward get a triple-double, it's pretty special."

The Pacers were without Haliburton as he missed another game due to a niggling hamstring injury, but they made light of his absence by racing into a 17-point lead within the first half.

Siakam's display was central to that, and Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse also heaped praise on the two-time All-Star, saying: "He was good, he was very good

"He got going early and when he does that, you're going to see him play really, really well. 

We got to him kind of late on some double teams and there was nobody there to rotate out, which is why he had such a big assist number."

The 76ers were made to pay for their slip-up as the league-leading Celtics beat the Miami Heat 143-110, avenging their defeat to the same team in last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

Jayson Tatum led seven Celtics in double figures with 26 points as Boston improved to 35-10, but head coach Joe Mazzulla warned the victory will be proven redundant if they don't reach the same level in the postseason.

"This game was really good, but it means nothing at all in the grand scheme of things if we don't take the lessons that we need to and apply it to the next game," Mazzulla said. 

"So, we'll enjoy it until we get to the plane and then it's onto the next one."

Anthony Davis told the Los Angeles Lakers their season could "go south" quickly without immediate improvement after their latest loss to the Miami Heat.

The Lakers are 2-8 in their last 10 games after the Heat won 110-96 at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, led by Tyler Herro scoring 21 points as all eight Miami players hit double figures.

After a tough December, this was the first game of a run that will see LA play 11 of its next 12 at home but it did not provide an immediate reversal of fortunes.

The Lakers are now 17-18 on the season and have suffered a dramatic dip to No. 10 in the Western Conference standings since winning the NBA Cup.

Another home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday will give them a chance to bounce back.

"We just got to compete, play hard and go out with a mindset of a must-win mentality, and hopefully that can propel us over to get back to .500 on Friday and then kind of put a streak together at home," Davis said, per ESPN. 

"I mean, we have been a really good home team thus far, and we got an opportunity to continue to build on that. But if we play how we played tonight, then it's going to go south for us really bad.

"It is a little bit of everything right now and if we keep on this trend, it’s not going to be good for us. It is kind of obvious that we have got to figure it out sooner than later.

"They threw a zone in, and they just dared us to make shots, and we didn't. Kind of took us out of our thing, but 10 turnovers in the first quarter was kind of a recipe for disaster."

Davis had a game-high 29 points as well as 17 rebounds and five blocks, but also had a team-high five turnovers. 

Austin Reaves had 24 points and eight assists in the losing effort, while LeBron James was restricted to a season-low 12 points.

"We're losing and anytime you lose, the vibe should be off, you know?" Reaves said about the low mood in the Lakers' locker room.

"If I went in and the vibe wasn't off after the rough stretch that we've had, then I'd be concerned. That's really it. I don't expect for us to be happy with how we've played. So, until we figure that out, you know, the vibe should be off. 

"We got to win games. When I say the vibe is off, it's not like we don't like each other. It's we're losing. But I don't want to get that twisted on us not liking each other. Everybody in the locker room gets along."

Miami won despite being without Jimmy Buttler, but the Lakers have also contended with injuries over recent weeks and had Rui Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell missing for this one.

Coach Darvin Ham feels constant changes to his lineup have played a major role in the team’s struggles, but also told his players they must perform better to end the slump.

"No stone shall go unturned and we are here to explore whatever we can to right the ship," he said.

"We can't find any consistency until we get healthy. It's as simple as that. We've got to get healthy. When you're dealing with different guys being in and out of the lineup that frequently, it's damn near impossible to find a rhythm. That's just being real.

"But it's a little bit of everything right now. We're not executing. That team [Miami] played harder than us, executed better than us, more physical than us. We got outworked. If we keep on this train, it's not going to be good for us.

"We got to attack and be more competitive, but we need guys to step up and play better. 

"The reason we signed them is because we know what they can do. And so you got to come with that confidence each and every night and you got to fight through it. 

"Things not going your way, you can't ball up in the corner somewhere and go cry about it. You got to step up and try to see how you can best assist your team in being successful."

Miami faces the Phoenix Suns on Friday to end their five-game road trip. The Heat are 20-14 for the season and 11-8 on the road so far, putting them fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Paul George and James Harden were relieved to see Kawhi Leonard return from a four-game absence and help the Los Angeles Clippers stay hot with a win over the Miami Heat.

Leonard scored 24 points to pass 13,000 for his NBA career as the Clippers won 121-104 against the short-handed Heat on Monday.

George added 23 points, Norman Powell had 22 on 9-of-11 shooting while James Harden scored 15 points and provided 10 assists to aid in the Clippers' third straight victory and 12th in 14 games. 

"You see the performance," Harden said about the return of Leonard, who had been sidelined by a hip contusion.

"Both ends of the ball, just elite. Shotmaking, defensively just being active, creating opportunities in transition. We needed that, for him to get well and get better. We missed him."

George feels Leonard adds so much more than his statistical production.

"He does all the little intangible stuff – it's just so reliable," said George.

"It's great to have 2 back in the lineup. He missed a little over a week and it was going to take a little time for him to catch his rhythm, but I thought he did and looked like himself."

Miami, playing without six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and a few other key contributors due to injuries, held a 35-23 lead after one quarter and was up by as much as 14 points in the second before the Clippers began battling back.

Los Angeles outscored the Heat by a 32-17 margin over the final 9 1/2 minutes of the first half to take a 59-58 edge at the break. Leonard had 13 second-quarter points to spark the comeback and George then scored 12 points in the third as the Clippers extended their lead to 95-85 entering the fourth.

The Clippers have continued to find a way to win since their six-game losing streak in November.

"It is better when you try to figure it out winning than trying to figure out losing and that is what was happening earlier [in the season]," added Harden.

"Every single game, we are trying to find ways to win games. Then towards the end of the season we’ll understand what we’re really good at and what we are not."

Los Angeles is now 20-12 for the season, fourth in the Western Conference ahead of Wednesday's road game against the Phoenix Suns, who have won four straight games.

Bradley Beal scored 21 points as the surging Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-88, even with Kevin Durant sidelined by right hamstring tightness.

As for the Heat, they will stay in Los Angeles before playing the Lakers on Wednesday.

Bam Adebayo paced Miami with 21 points and 15 rebounds but the Heat have now dropped two straight following a four-game winning streak and are fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Julius Randle had 39 points and nine rebounds, OG Anunoby made a strong debut with his new team and the New York Knicks earned a 112-106 win over the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday to end a three-game losing streak. 

Anunoby was traded to the Knicks from the Toronto Raptors on Saturday and met his new teammates for the first time on Sunday.

Despite needing some occasional help to navigate coach Tom Thibodeau’s system, Anunoby finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and pulled down six rebounds.

Randle finished 14 for 24 from the field and made nine of 13 free throws for New York, which trailed by nine points after one quarter before outscoring Minnesota by a 38-17 margin in the second to build a 61-49 half-time lead.

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves, who had a two-game winning streak halted, with 35 points. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 29 for Minnesota, while Rudy Gobert grabbed 15 rebounds to go along with 10 points.

Bench propels Pacers as Bucks' home winning streak ends

Tyrese Haliburton finished just short of a triple-double as the Indiana Pacers put an end to the Milwaukee Bucks' 15-game home winning streak with a 122-113 victory over their Central Division rival.

Haliburton compiled 26 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead Indiana, which trailed by 15 points late in the third quarter to tie the game at 101-101 with under six minutes left.

The Pacers then embarked on an 8-0 run, with T.J. McConnell scoring six points during the spurt, to take the lead for good. 

McConnell had 12 points in the fourth quarter to help the Pacers to a fourth straight win. He finished with 16 points off the bench, while Bennedict Mathurin had 25 along with a career-high 13 rebounds. 

With Mathurin and McConnell leading the way, Indiana's bench outscored Milwaukee's reserves by a 70-16 margin.

The Central-leading Bucks were dealt their first defeat at Fiserv Forum since Oct. 29 despite Giannis Antetokounmpo's 30-point, 18-rebound, 11-assist triple-double.

Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton had 21 points each for Milwaukee, though Bucks star guard Damian Lillard struggled with a 3-of-16 shooting night while being held to 13 points.

Leonard returns to help Clippers top Heat

Kawhi Leonard returned from a four-game absence to score 24 points and help the Los Angeles Clippers stay hot with a 121-104 win over the Miami Heat.

Paul George added 23 points and Norman Powell had 22 on 9-of-11 shooting to aid in the Clippers' third straight victory and 12th in 14 games. 

Miami, playing without six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and a few other key contributors due to injuries, held a 35-23 lead after one quarter and was up by as much as 14 points in the second before the Clippers began battling back.

Los Angeles outscored the Heat by a 32-17 margin over the final 9 1/2 minutes of the first half to take a 59-58 edge at the break. Leonard, who had been sidelined by a hip contusion, had 13 second-quarter points to spark the comeback. 

George then scored 12 points in the third quarter as the Clippers extended their lead to 95-85 entering the fourth.

Bam Adebayo paced Miami with 21 points and 15 rebounds. The Heat have now dropped two straight following a four-game winning streak. 

 

Jaime Jaquez Jr. enjoyed a "special" Christmas Day as he stepped up in Jimmy Butler's absence, scoring a career-high 31 points for the Miami Heat as they overcame the Philadelphia 76ers.

Butler was ruled out for a third straight game with a calf injury, but Miami maintained their 100 per cent record in those contests with a 119-113 victory at Kaseya Center.

The Sixers – who were themselves without Joel Embiid due to a sprained ankle – erased a 21-point Miami lead in the third quarter, but Jaquez scored 10 of his points in the fourth to put the visitors away.

That made the 22-year-old the first rookie to manage at least 25 points and 10 rebounds on December 25 since Patrick Ewing for the New York Knicks in 1985, and he was delighted to see his hard work pay off on the big stage.

"It's definitely special," Jaquez said. "Great to get a win, a career night, on Christmas... I grew up watching these games. 

"To be able to play and have a career night, I just go back to all the hard work, late nights in the gym, just preparing for moments like this."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who is now 9-0 on Christmas, said of Jaquez's performance: "I don't think I called one play for him tonight, literally. 

"I mean, they were in his zone most of the second half. But throughout the rest of the course of the game, I definitely did not call one play for him. 

"He did it with offensive rebounding, transitions, cuts, timely threes, just a lot of plays in between, so you don't really think that it's a 30-point game."

Tyrese Maxey endured a difficult outing for the Sixers, shooting 4-for-20 and finishing with just 12 points, well down on his season average of 25.9.

The star guard lamented his poor shooting as he said of the Miami defense: "They did the normal stuff that I see when I'm out there without Joel.

"The blitzing, the hard showing, but for the most part, I got some really good looks and some shots that I make I don't know, four or five times out of 10. So I guess it was just one of those days."

Joel Embiid shook off an ankle injury to finish with 31 points and 10 rebounds in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 121-111 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday.

Embiid scored all 31 points after landing awkwardly trying to block a shot with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter.

He recorded at least 30 points and 10 rebounds for the 13th straight game, the longest in the NBA since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 16 consecutive games in 1971-72. Embiid has scored 30 or more in 14 games in a row, the most in the NBA since James Harden’s 32-game run in 2018-19.

Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey each scored 33 points, marking just the second time in franchise history three players have scored 30-plus points in a game. The other was in 1961 when Dick Barnett, Hal Greer and Dolph Schayes did it for the Syracuse Nationals.

Philadelphia has won eight of nine overall and six straight meetings with Toronto.

Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 31 points.

Young makes history in Hawks’ loss

Trae Young had his sixth straight game with at least 30 points and 10 assists, but it wasn’t enough as the Miami Heat got 30 points from Tyler Herro in a 122-113 victory.

Young finished with 30 points and 13 assists for his sixth consecutive game with at least 30 and 10. That ties the second-longest such streak in NBA history, one that only Oscar Robertson has topped.

Robertson had such a streak twice – a six-game stretch in January 1964, then a seven-game run spanning December to January 1965.

Duncan Robinson had 21 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 19 for the Heat, who overcame an 11-point deficit in the third quarter.

Sabonis has triple-double to lift Kings

Domantas Sabonis had 28 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his fourth triple-double of the season as the Sacramento Kings rolled to a 120-105 win over the short-handed Phoenix Suns.

De’Aaron Fox added 23 points and broke Mike Bibby's Sacramento-era assists record in the third quarter.

Kevin Durant scored 28 points and Devin Booker contributed 24 for the Suns, who have lost four of five to fall to .500 (14-14).

Phoenix played without Bradley Beal (ankle), Josh Okogie (hip strain) and Jusuf Nurkic (personal).  

Giannis Antetokounmpo said playing with Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton was "like heaven" after the trio combined to guide the Milwaukee Bucks to the quarterfinals of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.

The Bucks moved to 13-5 for the season and 4-0 in East Group B for the In-Season Tournament with Tuesday's 131-124 win over the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center.

Milwaukee found themselves down 118-115 with three minutes and 25 seconds to play, but they finished on a 16-6 run to tee up a home game in the last eight, with Antetokounmpo leading the way with 33 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The two-time MVP was ably supported by Lillard, who posted 32 points and nine assists, and Middleton, who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. 

After the game, Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin revealed Antetokounmpo had suggested feeding the ball to Middleton more often, and the star forward said doing so made Milwaukee less predictable.

"It's great, for me it's like heaven when you have two guys that can create their own shots, and I don't have to make something happen," Antetokounmpo said.

"It's great. My whole career it's been that way, and now also we have Khris and Dame that can do that. It makes the game easier for everybody. 

"Them breaking down the defenses is great, but if they can't, they can give the ball to me and I'll spread it to the corners or play one-on-one.

"Offensively, I think guys got to the spots and were able to execute, a few pick and rolls with Dame as the ball handler, a few pick and rolls with Khris as the ball handler… it was great. 

"I think it helps the flow of our offense when it doesn't always have to be Dame and Giannis, then we can play from there.

"I feel like that's where we are, all playing as a team, the energy is better, everybody has more touches of the ball, I think we can be more effective that way."

The Heat were made to pay for the absence of Jimmy Butler, who missed the game with an ankle sprain after averaging 37.6 points as Miami eliminated Milwaukee from the playoffs last season.

Bam Adebayo scored 31 points for Miami, with Kyle Lowry adding 21 and Josh Richardson contributing 20, and head coach Erik Spoelstra was broadly pleased with their display, despite the result.

"I felt like we played a very good basketball game," Spoelstra said. "A very good offensive game, in particular."

Now 10-8 for the campaign and eliminated from the In-Season Tournament, Miami will look to halt their three-game losing streak when they face the Indiana Pacers in a home double-header later this week. 

The Milwaukee Bucks got big performances from their two brightest stars in a 131-124 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday to clinch a quarterfinal spot in the In-Season Tournament.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and Damian Lillard added 32 to help the Bucks win East Group B with a 4-0 record.

Milwaukee will host wild-card New York on either Dec. 4 or 5, with East Group C winner Boston going to Group A winner Indiana for the other quarterfinal before the Final Four in Las Vegas.

Miami, which was without second-leading scorer Jimmy Butler, dropped its second straight following a 9-1 stretch.

Bam Adebayo scored 31 points and Kyle Lowry had 21, including a 3-pointer with 3:25 remaining to put the Heat up 118-115.

The Bucks, though, finished on a 16-6 run, going 5 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 from the line. Lillard made two free throws with 63 seconds to play to help put it out of reach.

Milwaukee lost forward Pat Connaughton to a sprained right ankle in the second quarter.

Kings rally past Warriors to advance

Malik Monk sank a fadeaway with 7 seconds remaining and the Sacramento Kings rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter for a 124-123 win over the Golden State Warriors.

De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points and Monk and Kevin Huerter each added 21 for the Kings, who won their group with a 4-0 record and will host New Orleans next week in the quarterfinals.

Sacramento needed a win or a loss by 11 points or fewer to advance but erased a 21-point deficit to win for the seventh time in nine games.

Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 29 points apiece, but Golden State dropped to 2-8 in its last 10 games.

Timberwolves star Edwards injured in win

Rudy Gobert had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks as the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame an injury to star guard Anthony Edwards in a 106-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the In-Season Tournament.

Edwards had 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter before landing hard on his right side during a dunk attempt and leaving with a bruised right hip.

Coach Chris Finch had no more details on the injury or whether Edwards would miss time.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting but his 37-foot try at the buzzer, his only 3-point attempt of the night, was well off the mark.

Reserve Troy Brown Jr. scored 17 points and Naz Reid added 15 for Minnesota, which improved the West’s best record to 12-4.

Guard Immanuel Quickley couldn't contain his relief after the New York Knicks fought back for a remarkable 100-98 win over the Miami Heat on Friday to keep their In-Season Tournament hopes alive.

The Knicks began the home game against their long-time rivals – who ended their 2022-23 season in the second round of the playoffs in May – knowing a loss would have eliminated them from the competition. 

They looked to be on their way out when the Heat established a 21-point lead with three minutes and 40 seconds to go in the third quarter, but the Knicks finished with a brilliant game-closing 38-15 run to snatch victory.

A three-pointer from Quickley heralded the start of New York's fightback, with the 24-year-old finishing with 20 points and four rebounds as the Knicks earned a measure of revenge over Miami.

Asked what was going through his head when New York found themselves staring at defeat, Quickley said: "It's a decision whether to mentally check out or not. 

"It's a decision to keep fighting. It's a decision to tell yourself, 'you got to keep fighting,' no matter what. I did look at the score and say, 'dang,' when I saw how much we were down, I literally said that. 

"But then I got right back to it, seeing where I was at mentally and said, 'let's go. Let's try to get a comeback going'."

The Knicks' good work was almost for nothing as Heat star Jimmy Butler had one last chance to win it, but his three-pointer rimmed out as the fourth quarter drew to a close.

"I've seen that shot go in, not just from him," Quickley said of Butler's last-gasp effort. "When you play basketball for so long, you see so many game-winners. They all look the same.

"I just said, 'please, please don't go in'' We worked so hard to get back… Thank God he missed it."

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra saw the end of the third quarter, when Quickley scored six points to cut the deficit, as the turning point, saying: "At the end of the third quarter we're up 20-plus. 

"Then we had some turnovers, a bad shot, we didn't get back on defense and then all of a sudden it turned into a Quickley three and another Quickley three, and then all sudden it gets to 13. 

"That was the biggest shift right there. We had an opportunity to take that thing to 25. There's a karma to it. We were so careless finishing that quarter."

Jimmy Butler scored 18 of his 36 points in the third quarter and the Miami Heat extended the NBA’s current longest winning streak to seven games with a 122-115 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.

Duncan Robinson added 26 points and Bam Adebayo had 20 to help Miami win seven in a row for the first time since Dec. 30, 2017-Jan. 14, 2018.

The Heat dropped to 1-4 with a loss to Brooklyn on Nov. 4, but haven’t lost since and their 8-4 record ties for the fourth-best 12-game start under Erik Spoelstra.

Each win during Miami’s current streak has been by single digits. Charlotte is the only other team without a double-digit win yet.

Mikal Bridges and Lonnie Walker IV scored 23 points apiece for the Nets, which had won five straight against the Heat.

Joe perfect from deep as Thunder win

Isaiah Joe went 7 for 7 from 3-point range to score 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder handed the short-handed Golden State Warriors their fifth straight loss, 128-109.

Shai Gilgeous Alexander had 24 points and seven assists and Josh Giddey scored 19 to propel Oklahoma City to its fifth win in six games.

Chet Holmgren added 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Thunder defeated the Warriors for only the second time in the past 11 meetings.

Jonathan Kuminga scored 21 points for Golden State, which dropped to 1-5 at home this season.

Golden State played without Stephen Curry (right knee soreness) and Draymond Green (suspension) and guard Gary Payton II exited with a sprained left ankle in the second quarter.

LeBron James believes he would have become one of the all-time NBA greats regardless of his spell with the Miami Heat.

James spent four years with the Heat between 2010 and 2014.

During that time, he became a two-time NBA champion, two-time league MVP and two-time Finals MVP.

The 38-year-old credits his time in Miami with introducing him to a new culture, but he feels he would have been the same player regardless.

"I think I would still be at this level no matter if I would've came here or not," James told ESPN ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers' clash with the Heat on Monday.

"Let's not get it twisted. The four years I was here, it was amazing. I loved everything about it. Loved this franchise, this franchise is top tier, it's one of the best franchises in the world.

"But as far as my career, my career was going to be my career as far as individually, because I know how much I put into the game and I know how much I strived to be as great as I can be. [But] as far as what I was able to learn here was second to none, that's for sure.

"I came here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to win championships. That was my only goal. That was the only reason I teamed up with [Dwyane] Wade and [Chris] Bosh.

"Because I felt like I couldn't do it in Cleveland. So I had an opportunity to be a free agent so I did what I thought was best, not only for my career but for me at that point in time."

So, what did James learn in south Florida?

"It was a culture change for me," James said. "People talk about 'Heat Culture'. It was a culture change, period.

"I was changing everything about my life for the first time in my life. To be able to be here and be able to learn and be alongside D-Wade, UD [Udonis Haslem] and Spo [Erik Spoelstra], those guys who had won it already, it definitely was great to be a part of, for sure."

James scored a game-high 30 points on Monday against the Heat, but he could not guide the Lakers to victory, with Bam Adebayo's triple-double and Jimmy Butler's 28 helping Miami win 108-107.

Victor Wembanyama scored 23 points in 23 minutes in his second preseason game to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 120-104 win over the Miami Heat on Friday.

The No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, Wembanyma was 10 of 15 from the field with four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and four of San Antonio's 13 turnovers.

The 7-foot-4 center from France began his NBA career with 20 points in 19 minutes in the Spurs’ preseason opener against Oklahoma City on Monday.

Devin Vassell had 21 points and Jeremy Sochan added 10 points, six boards and three assists for the Spurs.

Jamal Cain was 6-of-8 on 3-pointers and led the Heat with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Jonathan Kuminga scored 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting and Stephen Curry had 18 points as the Golden State Warriors edged the Los Angeles Lakers, 129-125.

Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis scored the go-ahead basket on a tip-in, then blocked a shot by former Indiana Hoosiers teammate Jalen Hood-Schifino at the other end.

Every Lakers starter scored in double figures, led by 17 points from Taurean Prince, who went 4 of 5 from 3-point range.

Austin Reaves had 16 points, Anthony Davis added 13 with six rebounds and four assists and LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell contributed 12 points apiece.

Nikola Jokic is now in "the legendary category" after he propelled the Denver Nuggets to victory in the NBA Finals.

Jokic capped a sensational postseason by sparking Denver's comeback from a 10-point second-quarter deficit on Monday.

The Serbian finished with 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting along with 16 rebounds as the Nuggets won 94-89 against the Miami Heat to clinch the championship in Game 5.

For Detroit Pistons great Isiah Thomas, two-time NBA MVP Jokic must be considered among the very best.

"It puts him in the legendary category for what he's done statistically in the Finals," Thomas told ESPN.

"I don't know if there's anyone who's ever had a statistical run in the NBA Finals as a center as he had in these categories."

For Jokic, who can now add an NBA Finals MVP award to his long list of career accolades, it was a case of a job well done.

"It's good, we did the job. I think we played the best basketball – I'm not going to say in the postseason – but we were there, playing the best basketball," Jokic told reporters.

"Since day one, there was something different about this team, an energy, and every day since I've had this feeling. I'm not really an optimistic guy but that gave me hope that we can do something."

It has been a long road for the Nuggets to their first NBA title, but Jokic believes a team must experience downs as well as ups to be great.

"If you want to be successful, you need a couple of years to be bad, then be good, and then when you're good you need to fail and then figure it out," he added.

"I think experience isn't what happened to you, it's what you're going to do after what happened. There are no shortcuts, it's a journey and I'm glad to be part of this journey.

"It's a good thing to know you've done something that nobody believed [we could]. Every player believed, and that's the good thing."

In 20 postseason games, Jokic accumulated 600 points, 269 rebounds and 190 assists. Never before in NBA history had a player reached those numbers over a 20-game span.

Jokic also became the first player in NBA history to have 25+ points and 15+ rebounds on 75 percent shooting in a championship-clinching win.

Jimmy Butler still believes he can lead the Miami Heat to NBA championship glory despite his team falling short in a 4-1 series defeat to the Denver Nuggets.

The Denver Nuggets became NBA champions for the first time after a tense 94-89 win over Miami in Game 5 on Monday.

Miami, just the second No. 8 seed out of a conference to reach the NBA Finals, made the Nuggets work for the clinching win. They held a seven-point halftime lead and were 89-88 ahead inside the last two minutes.

But the Nuggets, boosted by another monster performance from NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, rallied to end the franchise's long championship drought.

Butler has been with the Heat for four seasons and lost out in the NBA Finals twice – with the Los Angeles Lakers triumphant in six games back in 2020 on his previous attempt to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy – but the six-time All-Star, who is three months from turning 34, remains optimistic.

"It's been great," Butler said to ESPN about his four seasons with the Heat. 

"I've had some helluva teammates come through and compete with me and give us the opportunity to win a championship, which I still believe, with everything in me, that we will do as a team here, as an organisation, as a city in Miami.

"I'm just grateful. I learned so much from this group. They taught me so much. I wish I could have got it done for these guys, because they definitely deserve it."

Coach Erik Spoelstra accepted the Nuggets were worthy winners but spoke with pride about his team's achievements in a dramatic season.

Miami almost lost to the Chicago Bulls during the second game of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament before their sensational run to the Finals, beating the No.1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks and championship favourites the Boston Celtics.

"There's no regrets on our end," Spoelstra said. "There's just sometimes where you get beat, and Denver was the better basketball team in this series. 

"Those last three or four minutes felt like a scene out of a movie. Two teams in the ring throwing haymaker after haymaker, and it's not necessarily shot making, it's the efforts.

"I don't know how long it would take me to go through the autopsy of this final game, but I would say that it will probably rank as our hardest, competitive, most active defensive game of the season, and it still fell short.

"You have to tip your hat to them. They are one hell of a basketball team. They play the right way, they compete, they are well-coached and they have a strong culture. 

"So for this season, they deserve this."

Jokic capped a sensational postseason by sparking Denver's comeback from a 10-point second-quarter deficit. The Serbian star finished with 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting along with 16 rebounds. 

Butler ended with 21 points for Miami, while Bam Adebayo compiled 20 points and 12 rebounds but managed just two points in the second half.

Center Adebayo echoed the pride of Butler and Spoelstra when he looked at what had been achieved.

"You take the experience of this season, and if you can just bottle that up and everybody just have their own portion or rewritten story of it, the No. 1 thing, I think, would be will," he said. 

"So looking forward, I think this is one of my favourite teams I've ever been a part of because we willed our way through ups and downs.

"We willed our way through the things that people said we couldn't do."

Jamal Murray is confident there is more to come from the Denver Nuggets after the franchise's first NBA Finals success.

The Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 94-89 on Monday to secure a 4-1 series win, ending their wait for a championship.

Nikola Jokic, who was named the Finals MVP, starred with 28 points and 16 rebounds, while Murray added 14 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

After losing Game 2 at home, Denver bounced back with two dominant victories in Miami before rounding off their triumph back in Colorado, and Murray had few doubts the Nuggets would get the job done.

"I knew once we were healthy, we could do it," Murray told ESPN. "So this [championship] was long overdue. I think this is the first of many.

"We clearly can do it, so let's do it again."

There was a similar sentiment from Denver coach Michael Malone, who wants to turn a championship into a dynasty.

He told reporters: "Pat Riley said something many years ago. I used to have it up on my board when I was a head coach in Sacramento.

"It talked about the evolution in this game and how you go from a nobody to an upstart, and you go from an upstart to a winner, and a winner to a contender, and a contender to a champion, and the last step after a champion, is to be a dynasty.

"So we're not satisfied. We accomplished something this franchise has never done before, but we have a lot of young talented players in that locker room, and I think we just showed through 16 playoff wins what we're capable of on the biggest stage in the world."

Two-time NBA MVP Jokic was the star of the show all season for the Nuggets.

The 28-year-old tallied 600 points, 269 rebounds and 190 assists in the postseason. It is the first time any player in the history of the NBA had reached those numbers across a 20-game span (including both regular-season and postseason games).

Jokic also became the first player in NBA history to have 25+ points and 15+ rebounds on 75 per cent shooting in a championship-clinching win.

"The job is done, and we can go home now," Jokic said.

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