MIAMI (AP) – What can the Browns do for the Denver Nuggets?
It brought them one win from their first championship in franchise history.
Bruce Brown scored 21 points off the bench to help Denver Beat the Miami Heat 108-95 in Game 4 From the NBA Finals on Friday night. He was at his best after Nikola Jokic was knocked out early in the fourth quarter with a bad tackle, and he helped the Nuggets weather the storm rather than blow out a double-digit lead.
Knowing that the Heat would focus on trying to get Jamal Murray out of the game, the Browns set his mind to being firm — and it worked.
“The other four players had to make plays,” Brown said. “Fortunately, it was only this time.”
Was it ever. Brown shot 4 of 5 from the field and scored 11 points in the fourth quarter alone, playing a key role in ward off heat Without Jokic on the floor for several minutes.
“Bruce Brown’s fourth quarter was amazing,” said head coach Michael Malone. “They were giving Jamal a lot of attention, let’s get Jamal off the ball, let Bruce make some plays. He was aggressive, got to the basket, hit shots and tonight was a great performance.”
It was the second time in as many games that an unknown Nuggets player helped seal the victory. Rookie Christian Braun – whose last name is also pronounced like “Brown” – Scored 15 points in the third game Wednesday.
“Bruce can circle,” said Murray, who scored 15 points. “We have a group of players who can be involved in the game and influence it. You can’t just focus on me or ‘Jock’. You have to guard everyone, and tonight was another example.”
Denver led by 10 when Jokic made his fifth error with 9:24 left in the fourth. The lead narrowed to as few as five points before Murray scored or assisted on 10 consecutive points.
Quickly, it became Brown’s show. In a stretch of just over five minutes ago, he made a running pass, sank a couple of free throws, hit a pull-up jumper and scored as he drove to the basket.
It was the effect of the Browns, who signed away from the last Brooklyn Nets team in free agency. Malone saw what the Browns did defensively against Boston’s Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum in the playoffs, and he hoped the 26-year-old could help overcome Denver’s offense.
“Can I say I imagined him scoring 11 points on the road in Game 4 of the Finals? But I imagined him to be a ballplayer, a playmaker.”
Brown, a University of Miami product, saw that in himself, too, and felt he needed a chance to show it in the pros. In Detroit’s second round in 2018, he displayed flashes but still had a loophole missing from his game early in his career: He couldn’t shoot.
“They left me wide open and let me shoot, so it affected my confidence, but it put a chip on my shoulder,” Brown said. “I just got into the gym and worked out, and now it’s being played on the biggest stage.”
This show on this stage made Malone Beam saying that Brown is “fearless”.
This moment certainly wasn’t too big for Brown, but it wasn’t an opportunity for him yet to reflect on his journey to this moment.
“Doing it on this platform, that’s cool,” he said. “But I’ll think about it when we’re done.”
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