Jokic, Canada's Murray post historic triple-doubles as Nuggets beat Heat for series lead
Denver stars become 1st teammates in NBA history to record 30-point triple-doubles in same game
Never had two players from the same team had 30-point triple-doubles in the same game. Never in the regular season. Never in the playoffs. Certainly never in the NBA Finals.
Until now.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made history Wednesday night — and have the Denver Nuggets two wins away from making some real history as well.
Jokic and Murray became the first teammates in NBA Finals history to both record triple-doubles, and the Nuggets reclaimed the lead in the series by beating the Miami Heat 109-94 in Game 3.
Jokic finished with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists — the first such game in NBA Finals history, or at least the first since assists were tracked. Murray had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, getting the rebound he needed with 9 seconds remaining.
Murray, of Kitchener, Ont., also set a single-game record for points by a Canadian in an NBA Finals game.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are the first pair of teammates with triple-doubles in Finals history!<br><br>Jokic: 32 PTS, 21 REB, 10 AST<br>Murray: 34 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST<br><br>DEN/MIA Game 4: Friday, 8:30pm/et on ABC <a href="https://t.co/0hLcPvv0zN">pic.twitter.com/0hLcPvv0zN</a>
—@NBAThe Nuggets outrebounded the Heat 58-33, and took a 2-1 lead. Game 4 is Friday 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."
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points for Miami, and Bam Adebayo finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Caleb Martin added 10 points.
"We've got to come out with more energy and effort and that's correctable," Butler said. "That's on us as a group."
Dynamic duo
Jokic and Murray combined for 24 field goals; Miami had 34. Jokic and Murray combined for 31 rebounds; Miami had 33. Jokic and Murray combined for 20 assists; Miami had exactly that many.
Somehow, some way, the Heat know they need to find an answer before Friday.
Miami has been the comeback kings of these playoffs — seven rallies in games after trailing by at least 12 points. The Heat were down by 14 going into the fourth, and Malone reminded his club of Miami's penchant for comebacks.
"First two games, they won the fourth quarter," Malone said. "Tonight, we win the fourth quarter, we win the game."
His team listened.
The lead eventually reached 21, the outcome never seriously in doubt, and Jokic looking very much like he's back in cruise control. The Heat got within nine on a three-pointer by Duncan Robinson with 1:22 left, but there was no epic finish for Miami. Murray and Jokic had the Nuggets too far ahead to get caught.
WATCH | Jamal Murray gets hometown love in Kitchener, Ont.:
"You have to expect there to be elite talent in the finals," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And both those guys are elite-level talent."
Officially, Jokic is now the seventh player to have two triple-doubles in the same finals. Magic Johnson and LeBron James each did it in three different finals. Draymond Green, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird and Butler all had one title series with two triple-doubles.
It was Jokic's 10th triple-double of these playoffs, extending his single-season record, and he was unbothered by whatever Miami threw his way. He finished 12 for 21 from the floor, seven for eight from the line, playing 44 minutes.
Christian Braun was tremendous off the bench for the Nuggets, scoring 15 points on seven-for-eight shooting in 19 minutes. Aaron Gordon added 11 for Denver.
And afterward, they both marvelled at what their stars did in Game 3.
"It's greatness, man. It's greatness," Gordon said. "That's a dynamic duo right there."
Added Braun: "I would say that it's what they do every game."
Miami never led in the second half. A dunk by Adebayo put the Heat up 44-42 with 3:18 left in the half, before a three-pointer by Murray represented the seventh and final lead change of the night. It was 53-48 at halftime, before Denver pushed the lead to double digits for the first time early in the third and wound up leading by as many as 19 later in that period.
'Everybody bounced back'
The Heat stole home court by winning Game 2 in Denver, a game where Murray had a chance to force overtime with a three-point try that missed at the end. The Nuggets now have the lead again, and there was no Game 2 hangover on Wednesday.
Jokic had 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the first quarter. The only other players in the last 25 years to have that in any quarter of a finals game were Stephen Curry (12-7-5) for Golden State in the third quarter against Cleveland on June 4, 2017, and Shaquille O'Neal (12-7-3) for the Los Angeles Lakers in the second quarter against Philadelphia on June 8, 2001.
Miami's Udonis Haslem — in his 20th and final season — set a record. He became the oldest player to appear in the NBA Finals, breaking the mark of 42 years, 58 days set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on June 13, 1989.
Haslem turns 43 on Friday. He played the final 29.8 seconds.
