Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, both ex-Detroit Pistons, made the winning plays in final 2 minutes to secure Denver Nuggets’ NBA Finals win.
Two Detroit Pistons played hero Monday night, to bring the first-ever NBA championship to the Denver Nuggets.
That’s right, the final six points of Game 5 were scored by two former Pistons in the Nuggets’ thrilling 94-89 win over the Miami Heat at Ball Arena in Denver. And two other ex-Pistons watched it from the Nuggets’ bench.
Bruce Brown’s offensive putback layup was the Finals-winning basket with 1:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope then made the defensive play of the game, catching a wayward pass thrown right to him from Miami’s Jimmy Butler. KCP was fouled and sank two free throws with 24.7 seconds left for a 92-89 lead.
Brown then rebounded Butler’s missed game-tying 3-pointer, was fouled with 14.3 seconds left and sank both free throws for a 94-89 advantage. That was the final margin.
PISTONS MAILBAG: Who stands out at No. 5 pick, win/loss expectations for 2023-24
The Nuggets, the top seed in the Western Conference, won the series, 4-1, over the East’s eighth-seed Heat.
Two other former Pistons guards, Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith, also will be getting rings with the Nuggets.
