NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 12, 2023

Michael Porter

Denver Nuggets

Game 5: Postgame

Nuggets 94, Heat 89

Q. Michael, up on the podium you said it was your teammates and that was the reason why you stayed confident throughout this Finals even though you had been struggling. Can you expand on what that means and in what ways they had your back?

MICHAEL PORTER JR: I mean, my jumper was broke all series. I didn't play well offensively. To my capabilities.

But they know what I'm capable of. They see me every day in practice. The confidence they were giving me every day was what good teammates do.

I just stayed with it. Even tonight, it wasn't my best shooting night, but I just kept playing hard. That's all you can control is your effort. I could have scored zero points. I don't care, we won a championship. Can't nobody tell me nothing.

Q. How do you contextualize Nikola Jokic's postseason where he leads the Playoffs in points, rebounds, assists, nearly averages a triple-double? How do you put that into context?

MICHAEL PORTER JR: Yeah, I don't really think you can put it into context. Nikola, he does so many things for our team. He's so good of a basketball player. I don't really think people understand how good of a basketball player he is.

But to do this where we're happy for him and we're happy for everybody on the team, but Nikola, he led us all Playoffs with his passing some games, scoring other games. This was a historic run. I don't know how you can say he's not the best big man ever really. He's one of the all-time best basketball players. I don't care what anyone says. I think he's one of the all-time best players to ever play this game.

To be on this team, he makes it easy for the rest of us. But we've got so many good players on this team, man, we're happy we got to do it with this group of guys because we don't know if we'll be together how much longer, but to do it with this group of guys, it feels amazing.

Q. Before Game 4, Malone said that you would -- he was sticking with you no matter what and that you would have a big game to help the Nuggets win this series. What does it mean to you that your best game came in the clincher?

MICHAEL PORTER JR: I mean, to me, that's not really that good of a game. I didn't think I played that good all series. I don't know what was going on with my shot. I really don't care. I'll fix it in the offseason.

I mean, it was good to be able to get a couple shots to go this clincher. I'm not even supposed to be here, to be honest with you. After everything I've been through, I'm not really supposed to be a World Champion.

But to do it with this group of dudes after everything that -- I can't describe it. I look back on everything, how hard I worked, and it just feels surreal.

Q. You mentioned not knowing how long this group was going to be together. Obviously, Bruce has a decision to make this offseason, but he hits the game-winning buckets for you guys, grabs the offensive rebound. Is that a culmination of what he's meant for you guys this season as you've been on this run?

MICHAEL PORTER JR: Yeah, I'm glad Coach took me out and put him in. He got that put-back bucket and then two big free throws. That's what this team is about. We're really selfless. As long as we win the games, no one really cares. That stems from how we are as an organization, but also Nikola, our best player, how he is. He doesn't care if he scores, assists, rebounds as long as we win.

I think, yeah -- what was your question again?

Q. Bruce has a decision to make --

MICHAEL PORTER JR: Yeah, Bruce has been huge for us all Playoffs. We're excited for him because he's going to get paid. He's going to get paid. He was amazing for us all Playoffs, off the bench. We just kept telling him be aggressive, even though his first half didn't go amazing making shots-wise. He hit that big bucket down the stretch, made those two free throws. He was amazing for us all Playoffs. It wasn't just tonight.

Q. Defensively second half you guys held them to 38 points. What adjustments were made after the break?

MICHAEL PORTER JR: I mean, we made some adjustments, but that's a closeout game. I feel like that game was just intense and it was physical. People were missing shots. Like it wasn't a pretty basketball game. But that's what winning a championship is about. You've got to be able to win it in many different ways.

We didn't shoot the ball good all game. I didn't shoot the ball good. As a team we didn't shoot the ball good. But to win a championship that's what it takes. That's what's different about the Playoffs and the regular season. Forget about the stats, forget about the shooting percentage. It's just about winning.

Q. We usually don't see a lot of emotion out of Joker. There was a timeout though in the third quarter where he was awfully animated over there on the bench. What was going on there?

MICHAEL PORTER JR: I forget. I think he was just trying to tell us what he saw in the game. But Joker, he gets animated sometimes. For the most part he's very calm, cool and collected, but if he sees something he knows will work, he's going to make sure all of us on the floor hear what he's saying and follow through with that.

Like I said in the interview a couple days ago, his IQ is off the charts. So if he sees something, he's going to let us know that's what we need to do, so I think that's probably what it was.