The Miami Heat defeated the Denver Nuggets 111-108 in Game 2 of the NBA Finals at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Sunday, tying the series 1-1.

The Heat, which missed 26 of their 39 triples in Game 1, shot 17-for-35 behind the arc in Game 2. Six of their players drained at least two 3-pointers each. Both Gabe Vincent and Max Strus made four shots from the outside. Strus, who missed all nine of his triples in Game 1, continued to be trusted by his teammates with open shots from downtown, making four of his seven attempts there in the first quarter.

Such overwhelming firepower from the outside enabled the Heat to match the Nuggets on this end of the floor, especially when they still found it difficult to work in the paint. However, a good 3-point shooting performance alone was not enough for the Heat to win. Their defense, which disrupted the connection between Nikola Jokic and his teammates, was also integral to the team's victory.

Jokic, who had averaged 29.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game in the playoffs before Sunday, watched the Nuggets lose both of the games in which he scored more than 40 points. He tasted the same pain on Sunday night. Having gone 16-for-28 from the field, Jokic got 41 points and 11 rebounds but only four assists. His team lost the competition and, consequently, the home court advantage.

Every team has to pick their poison between trapping Jokic to test the performances of his teammates and guarding Jokic one-on-one to test his individual attack. The Heat's choice in Sunday's game was to have one player contain Jokic to his utmost capability and put the defense on Jokic when he drove deep into the paint. Jokic still managed to deliver two incredible assists by connecting with Aaron Gordon, but generally he found it difficult to pass to teammates for easy buckets.

Jokic made the Heat pay by getting 11, 18 and 10 points in the first, third and fourth quarters, respectively. Even though the Heat switched to denying the ball by guarding him in the fourth period, Jokic kept causing trouble by launching attacks without the ball. Jamal Murray added eight points and four assists in this quarter, but his performance came too late for the Nuggets to reverse the situation.

The Nuggets were neither disciplined nor focused enough defensively on most possessions in Sunday's game. Murray and Michael Porter Jr. easily lost their defensive target after the opponents set one extra screen in the first half, leaving the Heat's shooters open at the 3-point line, especially in the two corners. Then in the second half, the Nuggets' defenders overdid it in closing out, committing too many unnecessary fouls.

By contrast, when the Nuggets managed to balance aggressiveness and reasonableness on the defensive end, like they did during the first seven minutes of the second quarter, they dominated the Heat with a 27-9 run. Christian Braun was the best-performing Nugget during that period with four points, three assists and two steals. Jokic was taking a breath on the bench back then, but his teammates kept their offense efficient with continuous fast breaks that came from solid defense.

The Nuggets have room to improve on offense as well. They allowed Love to play over 22 minutes on Sunday, during which he grabbed 10 rebounds and made two triples without being punished. He may be experienced enough to know when to join his teammates to contain Jokic, but Love is too slow to follow Murray at the perimeter. It is such a waste of opportunities that Murray didn't try to attack Love at all in Sunday's game.

Game 3 of the series will take place at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday.