Jokic, Murray Make History as Nuggets Win Game 3 in Miami, 109-94

The fantastic Denver Nuggets have taken back the lead in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, winning Game 3 in Florida, 109-94. The history was written as both Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had triple-doubles with 30 points each. That has never happened in the NBA before.

Jokic and Murray have been unstoppable, bringing back the lead in the series to their side and, what is more important, breaking the Heat’s swing and momentum, preventing any sort of euphoria in Miami.

“I’m just glad that we won the game,” Jokic said. “It was a big one for us because they won in our arena. We just didn’t want to go down 2-1.”

The best player in the league at the moment had 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists, an epic achievement in the NBA Finals. But as usual, the Joker wasn’t about the stats, staying focused on the main goal – the Larry O’Brien trophy. His Denver Nuggets are now extremely close to winning their first title ever and need only two wins to seal the deal.

Wednesday’s victory wouldn’t be possible without Jamal Murray, who played one of his best games ever. The Canadian’s inconsistency is troublesome for the Nuggets, but in this event, the sharpshooting guard was at the highest possible level. With 34 points, Murray was the top-scorer of the game, having 10 boards and assists each, and his seven turnovers were quickly forgotten.

Christian Braun came off the bench to score 15 buckets and make all of his seven two-point attempts, becoming a sort of an x-factor. The rookie was something that the Heat didn’t expect, and he had his role in this victory. Aaron Gordon had a double-double, 11 points, and 10 boards, while Michael Porter Jr. scored only two buckets.

Denver had outrebounded the rivals 58-33, imposing aerial domination and controlling the glass on both ends of the floor, which was the main reason for their victory. Bam Adebayo was the only one who was worthy of challenging the rivals inside the pain, having 22 points and 17 boards.

Jimmy Butler had the most points, 28, but his contribution in other areas was less than modest, with him having two boards and four assists which is incredibly low. Caleb Martin had 10 buckets, and these three players were the only ones with double-digit numbers in their columns.

Miami prevented the guests from shooting threes, with the Nuggets having only five hits in 18 attempts, but on the other hand, they themselves were 11 for 35.

“It won’t happen again. It starts with myself. I have to lock in on the defensive end. I have to go up and get loose balls. I think if I start playing and doing that, then everybody else has to follow suit,” Butler said of a poor performance his team showed.

The Heat couldn’t track the Nuggets’ pace in the second half. Some say that they relaxed a bit following a victory in Game 2, but Denver’s determination needs to be credited. The franchise from Colorado went in Game 3 like there was no tomorrow, setting the tone early on, especially through Jamal Murray.

Game 4 is set for Friday night at 8:30 pm ET at the same place. The Nuggets are the favorites to win this one as well, with the cover being -3 on the team from Denver.