DENVER — The Miami Heat changed their starting lineup in the NBA Finals, going back to Kevin Love instead of Caleb Martin in Sunday’s Game 2 win over the Nuggets. Love added six points, an assist and a team-high 10 rebounds in the 111-108 victory.
The move was meant to counter the Nuggets’ considerable size advantage from Game 1, in which Aaron Gordon — who is three inches taller than Martin — scored 12 of his 16 points in the first quarter of Denver’s 104-93 win.
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Love, who is 6-foot-10, started most of the playoffs for the Heat at power forward, and averaged 6.9 points and 5.8 rebounds this postseason heading into Sunday. The Heat replaced Love with Martin for Game 6 of the conference finals against Boston to counter the Celtics’ smaller, quicker lineup.
Martin was a star for the Heat in the Eastern finals and fell one vote shy of winning MVP for the series. He struggled in Game 1 against the Nuggets, scoring just three points on 1-of-7 shooting. Martin also missed practice Saturday with an undisclosed illness.
This is Love’s fourth NBA Finals. He appeared in three with the Cleveland Cavaliers and played an integral role in the Cavs winning the 2016 title. Love’s Cleveland teams went to one finals in which he didn’t participate, due to season-ending shoulder surgery.
Love joined the Heat in March after getting a buyout of his $30 million contract from the Cavs.
The Heat also ruled Tyler Herro out for Game 2 with a broken hand, though he continues to near a return from an injury that required surgery and knocked him out of all but Miami’s first playoff game, back in April.
On Sunday, Spoelstra said Herro “is progressing and we’re really encouraged by his progress,” but also said the situation requires “perspective.” Herro began engaging in contact drills when the Heat started practicing in Denver on Wednesday, and the intensity of the finals is far advanced, compared with trying to return to a regular-season game after a long layoff.
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(Photo: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)
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