Miami Heat have met their match against impressive Denver Nuggets in NBA Finals

DENVER − Pure joy and satisfaction remain one victory away for the Denver Nuggets.

Beating Phoenix and advancing to the Western Conference finals and beating the Los Angeles Lakers and reaching the NBA Finals were just steps, part of a larger mission to win an NBA championship.

"I speak for 17 players in that locker room and the entire organization: We are not satisfied," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said nearly three weeks ago after Denver swept the Lakers.

The only thing will make this season redeeming and successful is beating the Miami Heat one more time. Up 3-1 in the Finals after Friday’s 108-95 victory, the Nuggets are in position to claim the franchise’s first NBA championship in Game 5 Monday.

No NBA championship parade plans yet

Malone uttered his familiar refrain.

"Just understand that we haven't done anything,” Malone said before heading back to Denver. “I told our guys, the first thing I said, 'We're not celebrating. It's a good win. We've done our job. But we're not celebrating like we've done anything yet.'

"We know we're going to have to go home and turn off the TV, the radio, don't read the papers, don't listen to everybody telling you how great you are because we haven't done a damn thing yet. We have to win another game to be world champions, and we're going to do that by simply taking it one quarter at a time."

Malone’s cliched but necessary approach is part of what has allowed the Nuggets to get this far. And he’s right, his team shouldn’t pay attention to the media because we have the Nuggets winning the series soon.

The Nuggets were the best team in the playoffs after two rounds, the best after beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals and through four games of the NBA Finals, there is no doubt who the best team is.

They have the best player left in the playoffs in Nikola Jokic and the best 1-2 combo in the playoffs in Jokic and Jamal Murray, the best starting five and the best rotation. They’re getting necessary contributions from the tight eight-man rotation.

Denver Nuggets have 'tools' to claim franchise's first title

"We’re just ready to win a championship," Murray said. "We have the tools to do it. It's been on our minds for a while. We're just locked in. I don't think you've got to overthink it. We're just dialed in, ready to win."

Murray had 15 points, 12 assists and zero turnovers in Game 4, becoming the first player to have at least 10 assists in his first four Finals games and joining Magic Johnson as the only two players to have at least 10 assists in four consecutive Finals games.

Jokic’s 23 points, 12 rebounds and four assists Friday made him the first player to have at least 500 points, 250 rebounds and 150 assists in one postseason.

The contributions come from everywhere. Aaron Gordon had a playoff career-high 27 points, Bruce Brown scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, Michael Porter Jr. reached double figures in points after struggling to score in Games 2 and 3 and Jeff Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made important 3-pointers in Game 4. That followed Christian Braun’s 15 points off the bench in Game 3, a game in which Murray and Jokic each had triple-doubles including the first 30-point, 20-rebound triple-double in a Finals game from Jokic.

Denver’s three victories have been by at least 10 points. The Nuggets have the best offense in the playoffs, scoring 119.3 points per 100 possessions and the best defense for any team that advanced beyond the second round, allowing 111.1 points per 100 possessions. They have limited Miami’s 3-point shooting which was a league-best 39% after the first three rounds and 43.4% in the Eastern Conference finals against Boston.

The Heat are down to 36.6% against Denver, including 32.3% in their three losses.

Nuggets 'locked in' on defense

"That’s two games in a row, and even the first game that we won, our defense has been playing at a high level," Malone said. "I've got to give our guys so much credit for being locked in, being disciplined. That's three wins now where our defense has held them under 100 points, and the three-point line once again was a huge part of that. Only eight made threes for them tonight, and our guys are locked in. We're focused.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra tried to conjure the same confidence he displayed against Boston headed into Game 7 after a 3-0 Heat lead turned into a 3-3 series.

"All we are going to focus on," Spoelstra said, "is getting this thing back to the 305."

Miami’s competitiveness is and should be admired. But this is different.

The Heat have met the better team at the wrong time.

"We were still desperate,” Jokic said. "We still want it."

It's right there, everything the Nuggets have been building for since they knew what they had in Jokic and Murray five seasons ago.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Impressive Nuggets proving too much for Heat to handle in NBA Finals