NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 7, 2023

Caleb Martin

Miami Heat

Game 3: Postgame

Denver Nuggets 109, Miami Heat 94

Q. Caleb, the Nuggets got up 29 shots at rim today. I believe they were second in the league at getting up shots at the rim during the season. How hard is it to limit the amount of easy buckets that they create in the paint at the same time that you guys had some trouble finishing in the paint on the other end of the floor?

CALEB MARTIN: Yeah, that was crucial for us tonight, points in the paint. They did a great job of getting the ball to certain places for Jokic and getting him and Murray in their spots. We have to do a great job of making it tougher on the catches and putting more pressure on those guys to get tougher looks than that.

Q. Staying on that topic, you guys cycled through a lot of different coverages on those guys and even blitzing Murray down the stretch. Did you feel like, in terms of forcing them into tough shots, any of those coverages got you defensive traction at any point in the game?

CALEB MARTIN: Yeah, I think so. I mean, they are two great players. They obviously had triple-doubles and they can get it done, whether that's passing, playmaking, shotmaking, whatever it is. That's the reason why they are playing for a championship right now. They are one of the best duos in the league.

But I don't think that we did enough, as much as we are capable of doing, and making it tough on those guys, kind of like we did in Game 2. Just find ways in adjusting to the fact they are getting to their spots.

We just have to have a better approach mentally. Whenever their shots are falling, we can't let that trickle into our offense. Make sure we stay with it and put more pressure on those guys.

Q. Obviously some of it's maybe not as many three-point shots just not going in, but did it feel like they made an adjustment as far as trying to take some of those clean three-point shots away and maybe staying more at home on the shooters?

CALEB MARTIN: For them?

Q. Yeah.

CALEB MARTIN: Yeah, they did a great job of staying home and making our guys make tough twos. They made adjustments. That's part of it. That's part of the playoffs. You're going to see different coverages, different looks every game. Every game is going to be a different game. So that was the game tonight, and it will be a different game, Game 4.