NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 7, 2023

Kyle Lowry

Miami Heat

Game 3: Postgame

Denver Nuggets 109, Miami Heat 94

Q. Kyle, throughout most of this postseason run, you guys have gotten better at paint protection as the series have gone on, but then they had 60 in the paint tonight. What do you think went wrong with defending the paint?

KYLE LOWRY: I think one thing about Coach tonight, he knew how they were going to come out aggressive, and we just didn't -- we didn't match the force that we needed -- we didn't play with the force we needed to play with.

You know, I think that was their objective, to get in the paint, get inside and use their size and physicality. And, yeah, that's what they did tonight.

Q. Jokic obviously goes deep into the paint to protect the rim, but you guys got a lot of shots at the rim but just couldn't finish. What would you point to as the reason for some of those struggles?

KYLE LOWRY: I don't know. Honestly, I think we had opportunities to make some layups but missed them. Short-armed a few of them. Missed some layups. We attacked fairly well tonight. We got to the paint and we got to our spots.

We just missed easy ones. Bam missed some shots that he usually makes and Jimmy missed some layups that he usually makes.

But that's the game of basketball. You make some; you miss some. But we got to the spots. We got 92 shots up, so that's a positive.

Q. Even on possessions where it seemed like Bam or whoever the cover was defending Jokic well, this was just one of those nights where he was that guy. Is it frustrating, or is it just accepted that there's just going to be nights where he does things like this?

KYLE LOWRY: I think the game started off with Jamal Murray and it kind of made Jokic's game a little -- you know, a little bit easier. We had the help on Jamal. Jokic is going to get his. He's a two-time MVP. He knows how to play basketball. He's really talented.

Sometimes, like you say, he's going to do what he's going to do. 32-10-21, that's pretty good numbers. He's seven feet. He can do pretty much everything.

But I think Jamal set the tone for their group, and he was aggressive, assertive. And, you know, he set the tone, and it made things a little bit easier for Jokic.