![]() Nikola Jokic dropped 41 points, but he was limited to just four assists which threw the Nuggets out of rhythm. Gabe Vincent stepped up and led the Heat to victory scoring 23 points, and the Heat shot nearly 50% from behind the three point line. Eric Spoelstra made some major tweaks to the game plan that helped the Heat hand the Nuggets their first home loss in the playoffs. ![]() After seeing Miami get manhandled in the series opener, people were ready to crown Nikola Jokic and Co. There weren’t many who gave the Heat a fighting chance against the Nuggets in Game 2 from Denver. It may or may not have been a strategy of the Heat to keep Jokic over 40 ad under 4 assists, but Eric Spoelstra dismissed the idea entirely after Miami’s Game 2 win. Jokic has dished out less than five assists just four times this year, and in those four games the Nuggets are also winless. After the Game 2 loss, the Nuggets are now 0-3 when the Joker scores 40 or more points in the playoffs. They may have conceded a 40 point night to the Serbian, but Jamal Murray was the next leading scorer with 16 on a night in which Jokic dished just four assists. Eric Spoelstra went big to start the game, went to a zone late in the game, and maybe most importantly he made sure Jokic didn’t kill Miami by getting everyone else involved. Stopping Jokic might be impossible, but stopping the Nuggets isn't. If you lay off of him, he will pick you apart in the paint like he did in Game 2. If you double or triple team him he finds the open man for an easy bucket like he did in Game 1. When sideline reporter Lisa Salters asked Jokic about what it means to stand alone in the NBA history books, he very candidly told her “not much.” He is a superstar that is much more focused on winning than individual accolades and now he will shift his focus on taking Game 4 in Miami on Friday night. Murray led all scorers with 34, 10 and 10 while Jokic posted his 10th postseason triple-double, going for 32, 21 and 11 becoming the first player in the history of the league to get 30, 20 and 10 in an NBA Finals game. ![]() Jokic and Murray continued to pour it on in the fourth quarter, as both of them registered triple-doubles on nights in which they both scored 30+ points. Braun’s energy off the bench and the Denver defense was enough keep a double-digit cushion for the rest of the game. In the second half the Heat’s inside-out combo went cold as Miami scored just 20 points in the third and Jokic and Christian Braun stretched the Nuggets lead to 21 points.īraun had 15 points off the bench, nine in the second half and is now one win closer to winning the NCAA title and the NBA title in back-to-back years. The Heat turned the ball over just once in the first half, but shot under 40% as Jamal Murray led the Nugs with 20 points at the break.īam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler kept the Heat in the game as Bam had another big night going for 22 and 17 rebounds, much of that coming in the first half. Miami was struggling to shoot the ball as Denver defense stepped up after Nuggets coach Mike Malone questioned his teams desire and effort in the Game 2 loss. He had 10 in the first quarter as both teams traded shares of the lead and the largest lead either team had after the first half was 5. The first half went back and forth as Jimmy Butler showed up in the opening part of the game for the first time in this series. Those were things that the Nuggets addressed immediately out of the gate as Murray scored 8 points in the first five minutes and Jokic had 14, 12 and 7 assists by halftime. Two things that came out of the game in Denver on Sunday were Jamal Murray’s slow start, going for 0 points in the first quarter, and Jokic’s inability to distribute the ball like we are so accustomed to seeing. We have seen how he plays the game, and on Wednesday night in Miami he brought that calm back to the fans in Colorado with a historic performance as the Nuggets took home court advantage back in the series. Murray comes out firingĪfter losing Game 2 in Denver Nikola Jokic was unsettlingly calm in his postgame interview saying “sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.” The tranquil nature of his response should come as no surprise. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray became the first duo ever to post 30 point triple-doubles in the same game as the Nuggets cruised to a 109-94 win to take a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals. The Denver Nuggets brought calm back to the Rockies with a resounding Game 3 win over the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center on Wednesday night.
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