Despite starting every series in this year's playoffs on the road, the Heat managed to win the first game in each of their first three series. That certainly wasn't the case in Game 1 on Thursday, when the Denver Nuggets won Game 1 of the finals in convincing fashion, 104-93.

The Heat will attempt to even the series in Game 2 on Sunday in Denver, and they will again be heavy underdogs.

Denver is an 8.5-point favorite at BetMGM, where the Nuggets have been backed by 55 percent of the spread-line bets and 59 percent of the money. However, Miami's +300 moneyline has been a popular bet, with the public backing the Heat with 72 and 60 percent of the action, respectively.

WHAT IT MEANS

Miami has lost four of its past five games overall and is facing a deficit for the first time in these playoffs.

"That was one of my last messages to the group before our game," Denver coach Michael Malone said after his team improved to 9-0 at home in the playoffs on Thursday.

"I reminded our group, if they didn't know, that Miami went into Milwaukee (in the first round) and won Game 1. They went into the Garden in New York City (in the second round) and won Game 1. They won Game 1 up in Boston (in the Eastern Conference finals). So, we did not want them coming in here taking control of the series on our court."

PROPPED UP

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was the most popular prop bet ahead of Game 1 and went on to reward the public's confidence in him with his ninth triple-double of the playoffs. That includes six in his past seven games after collecting 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in Game 1.

"The most important thing is to win a game," Jokic said. "I'm trying to win a game in any possible way."

KEY STAT

Denver made 16 of its 20 free-throw attempts in Game 1, which was significantly better than Miami's all-too-brief performance at the line.

The Heat went to the charity stripe on just two occasions to set an NBA postseason record for fewest free-throw attempts in a game.

"Things have to be done with a lot more intention and a lot more pace, a lot more detail," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We are an aggressive, attacking team, and so if we are not getting those kind of opportunities at the rim or at the free throw line, we have to find different ways to be able to do it."

THEY SAID IT

Heat star Jimmy Butler had only 13 points in Game 1 to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. He did not make it to the foul line a single time.

"You've got to attack and attack everybody, not just one individual. I have to do a better job of creating the help, one, two guys, and getting to my shooter, otherwise finishing at the rim, making shots," he said.

"But we missed a lot, and we'll be better in Game 2. At the end of the day, that's what it is, and we'll take this and we'll learn from it."

Ollie, 50, was a finalist for the head coaching vacancy with the Detroit Pistons. He will take the place of Igor Kokoskov, who recently joined Quin Snyder's coaching staff with the Atlanta Hawks.

Ollie played 13 seasons in the NBA with 11 teams before becoming the head coach at UConn for six seasons, a run that included winning a national championship in 2014.

He moved on from being fired in Storrs, Conn., to take over coaching operations for Overtime Elite. He stepped down from that post after two years in March.

The Heat aim to level the NBA Finals against the Nuggets on Sunday when the teams reconvene in Denver for Game 2.

Miami entered the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, thereby starting each series on the road. The Heat, however, set the tone for each previous series by recording a 13-point win over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and seven-point victories in each of the next two series openers.

Miami has lost four of its last five games overall and is facing a deficit for the first time in these playoffs. That's foreign territory for the Heat, although now a reality after they dropped a 104-93 decision on Thursday in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.

"That was one of my last messages to the group before our game," Denver coach Michael Malone said after his team improved to 9-0 at home in the playoffs.

"I reminded our group, if they didn't know, that Miami went into Milwaukee (in the first round) and won Game 1. They went into the Garden in New York City (in the second round) and won Game 1. They won Game 1 up in Boston (in the Eastern Conference finals). So, we did not want them coming in here taking control of the series on our court."

Credit Nikola Jokic for making certain that didn't happen. Jokic recorded his ninth triple-double of the playoffs -- and sixth in his last seven games -- after collecting 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in Game 1.

"The most important thing is to win a game," Jokic said. "I'm trying to win a game in any possible way."

Jamal Murray added 26 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who shot a blistering 50.6 percent from the floor (40 of 79). Denver also made 16 of its 20 free-throw attempts, which was significantly better than Miami's all-too-brief performance at the line.

The Heat went to the charity stripe on just two occasions to set an NBA postseason record for fewest free throw attempts in a game.

"Things have to be done with a lot more intention and a lot more pace, a lot more detail," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We are an aggressive, attacking team, and so if we are not getting those kind of opportunities at the rim or at the free throw line, we have to find different ways to be able to do it."

Bam Adebayo collected 26 points, 13 rebounds and five assists and Jimmy Butler had 13, seven and seven, respectively. Neither player ventured to the foul line, however.

"You've got to attack and attack everybody, not just one individual," Butler said. "I have to do a better job of creating the help, one, two guys, and getting to my shooter, otherwise finishing at the rim, making shots.

"But we missed a lot (Thursday), and we'll be better in Game 2. At the end of the day, that's what it is, and we'll take this and we'll learn from it."

The procedure was performed Friday.

Randle, 28, played through ankle issues during the late stages of the Knicks' regular season before sitting out the final five contests.

Still feeling the effects of the injury, he returned to the court during the postseason for the Knicks, who defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs before falling to the Miami Heat in the semifinals.

Randle recorded a career-best average in points (25.1) to go along with 10.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 77 games (all starts) during the regular season. He was named an All-Star for the second time in his career, the first coming in 2020-21 in his breakout season for New York.

In 10 playoff games, Randle averaged 16.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

Pokusevski, 21, averaged 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while being limited to just 34 games (25 starts) last season. He sustained a tibial fracture in left leg in December that sidelined him for two months.

Pokusevski has contributed 7.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 140 career games (65 starts) with the Thunder.

The Thunder drafted the Serbian with the 17th overall pick of the 2020 NBA Draft.

Per the network, the Suns and Vogel are negotiating a long-term deal.

The Suns fired coach Monty Williams after the team fell to the Denver Nuggets in six games in the Western Conference semifinals.

Vogel will inherit a championship-level roster that features stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, among others.

Vogel, who turns 50 on June 21, guided the Los Angeles Lakers to their 17th NBA championship in 2019-20. He was fired by the Lakers following the 2021-22 season after missing the playoffs with a 33-49 record.

Vogel has a 431-389 mark after stays with the Indiana Pacers (2010-11 to 2015-16), Orlando Magic (2016-17 to 2017-18) and the Lakers (2019-20 to 2021-22).

House, who turns 30 next week, averaged 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 14.4 minutes in 56 games (five starts) for the Sixers in 2022-23.

He owns career averages of 7.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 260 games (103 starts) with the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Utah Jazz and Sixers.

House was undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2016.

The video, which was on Instagram Live, featured Morant waving the gun while sitting in the passenger's seat of a car while listening to rap music. It went viral on the morning of May 14, and the Grizzlies suspended Morant from all team activities later that day.

It was the second time in three months that Morant was caught with a firearm on social media. He was previously suspended eight games and sought counseling after a March 4 incident in which he filmed himself holding a gun at a Denver strip club following a 113-97 loss to the Nuggets.

Ahead of Game 1 of the Finals, Silver noted that "history of prior acts" and "the individual player's history" was taken into account when the league made its decision as to how it would punish Morant.

"We've uncovered a fair amount of additional information, I think, since I was first asked about the situation," Silver said. "I will say we probably could have brought it to a head now, but we made the decision, and I believe the players association agrees with us, that it would be unfair to these players and these teams in the middle of the series to announce the results of that investigation.

"Given that we're of course in the offseason, he has now been suspended by the Memphis Grizzlies indefinitely, so nothing would have changed anyway in the next few weeks. It seemed better to park that at the moment, at least any public announcement, and my sense now is that shortly after the conclusion of the Finals we will announce the outcome of that investigation."

Morant, after his initial eight-game suspension in March, met with Silver and league officials in New York to talk about the situation. Silver said the 23-year-old seemed "heartfelt and serious" when the two met, but he is unsure if the suspension made Morant change his ways in the wake of the most recent social media video.

"I don't think we yet know what it will take to change his behavior. Same thing I said at the time: He seems to be a fine young man," Silver said. "In terms of my dealings with him, I think he's clearly made some mistakes, but he's young.

"I'm hoping now -- once we conclude at the end of our process what the appropriate discipline is, that it's not just about the discipline, it's about now what we, the players association, his team and he and the people around him are going to do to create better circumstances going forward."

Morant is coming off his fourth season with Memphis after the Grizzlies selected him with the second overall pick in the 2019 draft. A two-time All-Star, Morant averaged 26.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 8.1 assists in 61 games (59 starts) in 2022-23.

The Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 104-93 on Thursday in the opener of the NBA Finals. The best-of-seven series will conclude no later than June 18, which is when Game 7 would be played if necessary.

Michael Porter Jr. added 14 points and 13 rebounds while Aaron Gordon had 16 points as the Nuggets won the series opener without having to lean heavily on Jokic, even as he ended up leading the way.

Jokic wound up 8 of 12 from the field after taking just five shots through three quarters. He extended his NBA single-year record with his ninth triple-double of the playoffs.

Denver, the Western Conference's top seed, shot 59.5 percent from the field in the first half and 50.6 percent for the game while improving to 9-0 at home in the playoffs.

Bam Adebayo amassed 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat, but Jimmy Butler was held to 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference failed to win the opener of a series on the road for the first time in four tries.

Gabe Vincent scored 19 points while Haywood Highsmith added 18 as the Heat shot 37.5 percent in the first half and 40.6 percent for the game. Miami was 2 of 2 from the free-throw line, an NBA Finals record for least number of free-throw attempts in a playoff game.

Jokic was content to occupy the role of playmaker in the first quarter, not taking his first shot from the field until 3.3 seconds remained. He made the close-range shot as Denver took a 29-20 lead at the end of the opening period.

The Nuggets opened their first double-digit lead at 32-22 on a 3-pointer by Murray with 10:31 remaining in the first half, and the hosts led 59-42 at halftime.

Denver grabbed its first lead of at least 20 points at 81-60 with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter on a pull-up jumper from Bruce Brown. The Nuggets went into the fourth quarter with an 84-63 advantage.

The Heat opened the final period on an 11-0 run to get within 84-74 with 9:29 remaining. The Nuggets seized control again to take a 90-74 lead with 7:16 left on a layup from Jokic and closed out the victory from there.

The Nuggets had to wait nine days after sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, while the Heat went the distance with the Boston Celtics in the East after blowing a 3-0 lead of their own.

Denver is seeking the franchise's first NBA title, and the Nuggets are heavily favored to accomplish the feat.

They opened as -350 series favorites at BetMGM, where the line is now -400 with the Nuggets backed by 72 percent of the title money.

Denver is favored by 8.5 points in Game 1 at BGM, although the public has been split with the Nuggets drawing 52 percent of the spread-line money while the Heat have been backed by 51 percent of the total bets. The line is 9.0 points at BetRivers, with Denver supported by 65 percent of the money and Miami by 56 percent of the bets.

STARS WITH SUPPORTING CASTS

The Nuggets' Nikola Jokic did not win the NBA MVP award this season after holding the honor for the previous two campaigns. Instead, he is poised for the ultimate team honor with a statistically dominating run in the postseason.

The Heat's Jimmy Butler has never won an MVP award but has shown at various points in his career that he has the kind of dogged determination that can carry a team through the most rugged of stretches.

While the individual accomplishments of Jokic and Butler will be a focus, they will be key for both teams in order to win a title.

"In some ways, it's a mirror image series, not in terms of style, but teams that probably have been overlooked, underestimated, built a chip on their shoulder over that," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's lined up to be a great competition."

Jokic appears sufficiently motivated after losing out on the MVP award to the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid. Jokic has averaged a triple-double in 15 playoff games: 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists.

He will get help from Jamal Murray (27.7 points per game), Michael Porter Jr. (averaging 14.6 points, 8.0 rebounds) and Aaron Gordon (13.0 ppg).

"I think the way we play, everybody can step up and everybody could be a best payer for a game or for a week," Jokic said, sounding uncomfortable with the top-player label. "The ball is in my hands a lot so I make a lot of decisions, but I don't know if I can be the best player."

Butler has found a different gear in this run, with an ideal blend of dirty work and glamour play that has led to averages of 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the playoffs. That is up from regular-season averages of 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

Bam Adebayo has averaged 16.8 points with 9.2 rebounds in the playoffs. The Heat roster also includes seven undrafted players, led by Caleb Martin (14.1 ppg in playoffs) and Gabe Vincent (13.1 points), who scored 29 in a Game 3 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

WHAT IT MEANS

It will be the No. 1 seed from the Western Conference in the Nuggets against the No. 8 seed from the Eastern Conference in the Heat. Miami is just the second No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals after the New York Knicks in 1999.

"You get to the NBA Finals, it's not about seeding anymore, and for those who are thinking that this is going to be an easy series, I don't even know what to say," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. "This is going to be the biggest challenge of our lives. This is the NBA Finals."

PROPPED UP

Jokic is the focal point for the public when it comes to player props. Entering Game 1, he is +105 at BetMGM and -110 at DraftKings to record a triple-double on Thursday night. Meanwhile, BetRivers reported the most popular Game 1 player prop in terms of total bets (12.8 percent) and money (4.4 percent) has been Jokic at -295 to score more than 23.5 points.

KEY STAT

Protecting home-court advantage will be critical. The Nuggets have a 10-game home winning streak and have covered the spread in the past six.

INJURY REPORT

The series wild card may be injured Miami guard Tyler Herro, the team's third-leading scorer (20.1 ppg) in the regular season. The 23-year-old sharpshooter has been out since suffering a broken right hand in the opening game of the Heat's first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.

On Wednesday, Spoelstra ruled Herro out for Game 1 but added that he is closer to returning.

FINALS HISTORY

The Nuggets are playing in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history and are playing for a championship for the first time since losing in the 1976 ABA Finals.

The Heat are in the Finals for the first time since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. Butler put on a similar performance in those playoffs that led to Miami's sixth all-time Finals appearance. The Heat have three titles, the most recent in 2013 led by LeBron James.

THEY SAID IT

Heat: "We have a connection and a competitive spirit, especially lately, just throughout the midst of this run. I think it's kind of all coming together at the right time. Those two things alone can really, really carry you. ... If you kind of have that collective trust and competitive spirit and grit to fall back on, I think that always gives you a chance." -- Guard Duncan Robinson

Nuggets: "Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. I'm cool with that. I think the way we play, everybody can step up, everybody can be a best player in one game or whatever, week, whatever." -- Jokic, on what it means to be the best player on the court in the NBA Finals.

The team did not disclose terms of the deal. He will be formally introduced at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

The move comes roughly six weeks after Nurse was fired by the Raptors.

Nurse, 55, replaces Doc Rivers, who was fired on May 17 after the 76ers bowed out in seven games to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Nick Nurse as the new head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers," team president Daryl Morey said in a statement. "His championship pedigree and diversity of experience mixed with his uniquely creative approach made him our top priority. We are confident that his leadership and expertise will help us unlock the full potential of our talented roster and bring an exciting new era of championship basketball to Philadelphia."

Nurse had a 227-163 record in five seasons as the Raptors' head coach. He is also the head coach of the Canadian men's national team.

"I'm honored to be named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, a storied franchise in a tradition-rich city," Nurse said. "It's been a fun challenge coaching against this group over the last five years. Now, I look forward to coaching the Sixers and doing my part to deliver for this tremendous fanbase."

Nurse was dismissed by the Raptors in April, ending a tenure that included the 2019 NBA title in his first season at the helm.

He was also reportedly a candidate for the Phoenix Suns vacancy.

"He's a terrific leader," Stevens said. "He'll only get better at anything that he can learn from this year, because he's constantly trying to learn. And he's accountable."

Mazzulla, 34, led the Celtics to a 57-25 record and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference in his first season on the bench. Boston's season ended Monday with a Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat in the East finals.

Mazzulla took over when coach Ime Udoka was suspended for the season in September for multiple violations of team rules. He reportedly had a consensual relationship with an unidentified female staff member.

Three Celtics assistant coaches -- Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles and Mike Mose -- are reportedly leaving to rejoin Udoka, who was named head coach of the Houston Rockets last month.

"Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. I'm cool with that," said Jokic, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player. "I think the way we play, everybody can step up, everybody can be a best player in one game or whatever, week, whatever."

Jokic has averaged a triple-double in the playoffs to put the Nuggets in the Finals for the first time, where the Eastern Conference play-in tournament survivor Miami Heat stand in the way of Denver claiming the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

While not mirror images, the teams are anchored by All-Stars and a decidedly unique team-first focus. In a given playoff game, either team could turn to a journeyman -- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for the Nuggets or Caleb Martin of the Heat, as relevant examples -- in crunch time. Television promos and social media framing of Jokic vs. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo isn't an accurate depiction of what's in store in the best-of-seven series.

"It's Denver against Miami. Just because I think we kind of have a similar play style, we are getting everybody involved," Jokic said. "We like to play team basketball."

The Heat ran through the East even after losing high-scoring sixth man Tyler Herro to a broken hand. Through the door and onto the stage the Heat brought a bevy of role players to fill the void, including Martin, Gabe Vincent and the re-emergence of Duncan Robinson. Herro went through a full workout and hasn't been fully cleared for contact. If he returns, the Heat will adjust again, a credit to the culture of a team with multiple undrafted players like Robinson, Max Strus, Haywood Highsmith, Vincent and Martin.

"We have a connection and a competitive spirit, especially lately, just throughout the midst of this run. I think it's kind of all coming together at the right time," Robinson said. Those two things alone can really, really carry you. ... If you kind of have that collective trust and competitive spirit and grit to fall back on, I think that always gives you a chance."

Denver set an NBA record for offensive efficiency in the regular season. Head coach Michael Malone said the difference between the 82-game regular season and the playoffs is the level of defensive commitment he received from the Nuggets. While Miami is leading all playoff teams at just under 20 points per game off of turnovers, the Nuggets are locking in on containing Butler.

"With a guy like Jimmy, you've got to give him different looks," Malone said. "You cannot guard him with the same play or the same scheme over a game, over four quarters or a series. That's going to be a challenge to give him different looks and to keep him off the foul line."

Jokic's All-Star sidekick, Jamal Murray, had three games with 30 or more points in the Western Conference finals, a sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers that provided the Nuggets a nine-day break as the Heat went to seven games with the Boston Celtics. On the Heat hit list this postseason are Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks and Jayson Tatum's Celtics.

Murray said Miami's chemistry beat star power to set up the 2023 Finals.

"They're unselfish looking for the shot, looking for the best shot," Murray said. "They use the whole shot clock. I think they're very well-rounded team and they trust each other. They've trusted each other a lot throughout the season. I think that's what sets them apart from all the other teams in the East that they faced. I think they're really together through the ups and downs. They're very resilient. Kind of like us in a sense where we're very resilient."

Lewis was on the NBA crew for the past four Finals.

Game 1 is Thursday night between the Miami Heat and the host Denver Nuggets.

"Regarding Eric Lewis and the social media posts, we are continuing to review the matter and he will not be working the Finals," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said Thursday, per ESPN.

The list of officials announced Thursday morning includes Scott Foster, working the Finals for the 16th time. Tony Brothers and Marc Davis were each chosen or the 12th time. Also picked were Zach Zarba, John Goble, Ed Malloy, David Guthrie, Bill Kennedy, Josh Tiven, Courtney Kirkland, James Williams and Kevin Scott.

"The pinnacle for an NBA official is to work the NBA Finals," league president of basketball operations Byron Spruell said in a news release.

Lewis has worked more than 1,200 games in 19 seasons in the league. His last assignment was on May 16 for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA is probing Lewis' connection to the Twitter account @CuttliffBlair, which was brought to light by user @PabloEscoburner. The site was created in November 2015 and, according to screengrabs, has been a constant defender of Lewis and NBA officiating overall, responding to negative tweets and highlighting Lewis' work.

NBA reporter Marc Stein first reported the investigation on Friday, and ESPN and The Athletic confirmed through sources on Sunday that the league is investigating Lewis and his link to the account.

When PabloEscoburner first tweeted about the account and a possible link to Lewis, CuttliffBlair replied that the account was run by Lewis' older brother, Mark. PabloEscoburner then showed the account as deleted later in the day, but as of Sunday night the account was active.

Of note, the account followed six users: PabloEscoburner, four NBA-related accounts (@RefAnalytics, @OfficialNBARefs, @NBA and @NBAOfficial), and @MasonWBB -- the official account of George Mason women's basketball. Eric Lewis' wife Vanessa Blair-Lewis is the head coach at George Mason.

The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat will meet in Game 1 on Thursday at Denver backed by a pair of stars with accomplished careers and playing at the top of their games.

The Nuggets' Nikola Jokic did not win the NBA MVP award this season after holding the honor for the previous two campaigns. Instead, he is poised for the ultimate team honor with a statistically dominating run in the postseason.

The Heat's Jimmy Butler has never won an MVP award but has shown at various points in his career that he has the kind of dogged determination that can carry a team through the most rugged of stretches.

While the individual accomplishments of Jokic and Butler will be a focus, they will be key for both teams in order to win a title.

"In some ways, it's a mirror image series, not in terms of style, but teams that probably have been overlooked, underestimated, built a chip on their shoulder over that," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's lined up to be a great competition."

It will be the No. 1 seed from the Western Conference in the Nuggets against the No. 8 seed from the Eastern Conference in the Heat. Miami is just the second No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals after the New York Knicks in 1999.

"You get to the NBA Finals, it's not about seeding anymore, and for those who are thinking that this is going to be an easy series, I don't even know what to say," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. "This is going to be the biggest challenge of our lives. This is the NBA Finals."

Making it viable for Denver is the presence of Jokic, who appears sufficiently motivated after losing out on the MVP award to the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid. Jokic has averaged a triple-double in 15 playoff games: 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists.

He will get sufficient help from Jamal Murray (27.7 points per game), Michael Porter Jr. (averaging 14.6 points, 8.0 rebounds) and Aaron Gordon (13.0 ppg).

"I think the way we play, everybody can step up and everybody could be a best payer for a game or for a week," Jokic said, sounding uncomfortable with the top-player label. "The ball is in my hands a lot so I make a lot of decisions, but I don't know if I can be the best player."

Butler has found a different gear in this run, with an ideal blend of dirty work and glamour play that has led to averages of 28.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the playoffs. That is up from regular-season averages of 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

Bam Adebayo has averaged 16.8 points with 9.2 rebounds in the playoffs. The Heat roster also includes seven undrafted players, led by Caleb Martin (14.1 ppg in playoffs) and Gabe Vincent (13.1 points), who scored 29 in a Game 3 victory over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

"We love being around each other; we want to see each other succeed," Butler said. "We really do enjoy when each other play well, and we're going to continue to do that, never going to get rattled, and we're going to see where we end up."

The series wild card may be injured Miami guard Tyler Herro, the team's third-leading scorer (20.1 ppg) in the regular season. The 23-year-old sharpshooter has been out since suffering a broken right hand in the opening game of the Heat's first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.

On Wednesday, Spoelstra ruled Herro out for Game 1 but added that he is closer to returning.

The Nuggets are playing in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history and are playing for a championship for the first time since losing in the 1976 ABA Finals.

The Heat are in the Finals for the first time since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. Butler put on a similar performance in those playoffs that led to Miami's sixth all-time Finals appearance. The Heat have three titles, the most recent in 2013 led by LeBron James.

The Heat, the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, open the best-of-seven finals series on Thursday on the road against the Western Conference champion and top-seeded Denver Nuggets.

"We don't want to get ahead of ourselves right now," Spoelstra said Wednesday. "He's still just starting this process. We do have a few days here just to continue his work. I can't even make any kind of proclamation until he takes these next important steps. And that's where contact and doing things more on the court live, and we'll just see."

Herro, 23, got the OK to return to basketball activities last week. He broke his right hand in the opening game of the Heat's first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks and underwent surgery.

"I know we're all encouraged by his progress that he's made, but we want to continue to be responsible and make the best decisions," Spoelstra said. "He's not there yet."

Herro was the 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year and moved into the starting rotation in this season. After starting just 33 times combined in his first three seasons, Herro averaged 20.1 points, 4.2 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game in his 67 starts this season.

Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday in Denver, with Game 3 set for Wednesday in Miami.

The report comes three weeks after the Pistons had identified three finalists for their vacancy -- Kevin Ollie, Jarron Collins and Charles Lee. But then Williams was fired by Phoenix.

What's unclear is if Williams is interested in coaching this season. Williams reportedly is owed $21 million on the three remaining years of his contract with Phoenix. Further, he told teams - including the Pistons - that he was going to take a year off with his family in the aftermath of his surprising ouster by the Suns.

The $10 million annually would put Williams among the NBA's highest-paid coaches.

The Pistons are replacing Dwane Casey, who stepped down last month after five seasons as head coach.

If the Pistons are spurned by Williams, they're expected to offer the job to the 38-year-old Lee, per the report. Lee has been an assistant coach under Mike Budenholzer with Atlanta and Milwaukee the past nine seasons. Budenholzer was fired by the Bucks early this month.

Williams, 51, went 194-115 in four seasons with the Suns and won Coach of the Year honors in 2021-22.

He led the Suns to the playoffs the last three seasons, going 27-19 in the postseason.

Williams also went 173-221 in five seasons as head coach of the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans (2010-15).

Perry helped guide the Knicks to the second round of the NBA playoffs with additions that included free agent Jalen Brunson.

Perry's contract expires in June. Team president Leon Rose and executive vice president William Wesley remain in their roles with the Knicks.

The Knicks posted a 47-35 record this season and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs before dropping the best-of-seven matchup with the Miami Heat.

After the Miami Heat outlasted the Boston Celtics in seven games, Denver was quickly installed by sportsbooks as the heavy favorite to win the title. That includes at BetMGM, where the Nuggets opened at -350 on Monday, and the line had shortened even further to -375 by Tuesday night.

The sportsbook also reported that the most bets on exact series outcome was Denver to sweep Miami in four games -- with 41 percent of the total bets at +450. The shortest odds belong to the Nuggets at +225 to win in five games, followed by Denver at +325 to win in seven.

The story has been similar at BetRivers, where the Nuggets opened as -400 favorites to beat the Heat (+300), with the line shifting slightly to -385 Tuesday. Denver has accounted for 20.7 percent of all NBA title futures money wagered at the sportsbook since the market opened.

BetRivers did report a $4,000 title bet placed on Miami at +1400 that would pay out $56,000. Another bettor placed an $8,000 wager on Denver at +230 that would collect $18,400.

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is the heavy favorite to take home NBA Finals MVP honors.

He is being offered at -335 at BetRivers, where he has drawn 72.1 percent of the money wagered on the MVP market despite being backed by just 30.4 percent of the total tickets. Teammate Jamal Murray has drawn 9.2 and 13.5 percent of the action, respectively, the second most among players on both teams.

The Heat are led by Jimmy Butler, who has been backed by 5.2 percent of the money and 9.7 percent of the tickets at +300.

Jokic is an even heavier favorite at BetMGM at -350, followed by Butler at +350 and Murray at +1200.

"It's just time," Myers told ESPN on Tuesday.

Myers' contract was set to expire in late June. The 48-year-old declined offers from the Warriors that would have made him one of the most highly paid executives in the league, per ESPN.

Under Myers, the Warriors went 4-2 in the NBA Finals. They won NBA titles in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022. The Warriors lost in the finals in 2016 and 2019.

The Warriors have a press conference set for 4 p.m. ET in San Francisco.

The Warriors hired Myers as assistant general manager in 2011. He was promoted to general manager in 2012.