The Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Monday, winning the series 4-1 and the team's first Larry O'Brien Trophy since they joined the league in 1976.

As the Nuggets' ace, Nikola Jokic was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player and handed the Bill Russell Trophy by the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after the game. He has averaged 30.2 points, 14 rebounds and 7.2 assists in the series. In the decisive competition on Monday night, he shot 12-for-16 from the field to drop a double-double of 28 points and 16 rebounds. The Heat did their best to cut Jokic's connections with his teammates, but he achieved something on nearly every possession when he had the ball below the free throw line.

However, it was never a one-man show for Jokic. Jamal Murray scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half during which the Nuggets rallied 50-38, and delivered four assists in the fourth quarter alone. Michael Porter Jr. had a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds. He still struggled at the 3-point line, but did a remarkable offensive job of finishing under the hoop.

Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope combined to contribute four steals and four blocks. Three of those blocks came from 1.96-meter-tall Caldwell-Pope, who often rotated quickly on the defensive end to protect the paint. Bruce Brown, as one of the best-performing bench players in the series, got 10 points and team-high four offensive rebounds.

Despite the Nuggets' 3-1 lead before Monday, they were the rookies in the NBA Finals. Having the opportunity to end the series and secure the title at home could be both a motivation and a huge source of pressure. They committed a total of 14 turnovers, 10 of which happened in the first half. The team also missed 23 of their 28 triples as well as 10 of their 23 free throws. All of these were the worst performances on these fronts in the series.

That's why commentators on ABC of this game said the Nuggets looked "nervous and anxious" in the first half. They left so many opportunities for the Heat to exploit and take the NBA Finals back home for Game 6 before they bounced back in the second half. Instead, the Heat led by only seven points (51-44) after the first half, too little and too unsafe in front of the Nuggets, which could quickly create epic offense out of nothing under Jokic.

Jokic was called two personal fouls in the first quarter. Before he had to go to the bench, Gordon was already in the same foul trouble. As a result, coach Michael Malone had to send DeAndre Jordan, who was already ruled out of regular rotations in the playoffs, to the court. When Jokic headed for the bench, his side led 18-16. When he came back in the second quarter, they trailed 31-27. Jordan should have been the most obvious weak link for the Heat to attack, but they only outscored the Nuggets by six points when he was on the court.

Perhaps Jordan's not so disappointing performance on the floor gave the Heat's head coach Erik Spoelstra the wrong idea about their rotations. Cody Zeller, who proved to be nothing but a deadweight in the NBA Finals, appeared on the court at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Though he played only a little more than one minute, the Nuggets had a 5-0 run during that short period of time, gaining the momentum of the competition back.

That's why Bam Adebayo played more than 44 minutes on Monday night. Though he shot no better than 9-for-20 from the field, he probably played his best game of the series in this game. The Heat counted on his toughness, Kyle Lowry's 3-point shooting as well as the constant, smart cuts of Max Strus and Caleb Martin to keep the competition on their side, waiting for Jimmy Butler to save the day in the final period.

Butler has been in a poorer form in the NBA Finals than he was in the previous competitions of this year's playoffs. Neither did he show any sign of bouncing back in the first three quarters in Monday's game, during which he missed eight of his 10 field goals (FGs). Nonetheless, Butler's time seemed to have come in the fourth period. He shot 3-for-5 from the field to score 13 of the team's 18 points, all in the final five minutes. Though the 3-point foul he drew is likely a wrong call by the referee, Butler came very close to becoming the hero for his side.

The Heat trailed 90-89 when there were 44 seconds left. Butler had the ball, faced Murray and then drove into the paint. Jokic came to join Murray next to the rim to keep Butler from both attacking the basket and lobbing it to Adebayo. Butler had to stop and all of the Nuggets knew what he would do next: passing to the teammate outside the 3-point line, which he did too many times in this game.

Caldwell-Pope was there waiting to cut Butler's pass to Strus and he stole the ball. Having been fouled, Caldwell-Pope made the two free throws to place the Nuggets on a safe 3-point lead. Butler still had another chance to save the day in the following possession. With more than 24.7 seconds left, he had more than the option of shooting a tough 3-pointer over the fingertips of 2.03-meter-tall Gordon.

However, Butler shot and missed the triple, leaving his side no other choice to foul Brown. When Brown made his second free throw to extend the Nuggets' lead to five points, the game was already over. Lowry's final missed 3-pointer became the Heat's final play this season.