The Denver Nuggets duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made NBA history in their 109-94 win over the Miami Heat at the Kaseya Center on Thursday morning.
Jokic and Murray both finished with a 30-point triple-double to become the first pair of teammates in NBA history to achieve such a feat both in the regular season and in the playoffs. They also became the first teammates in NBA Finals history to both record triple-doubles.
Two-time MVP Jokic finished with 32 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, and two blocks, shooting 12-of-21 from the field for his 10th triple-double this postseason, while Murray had a game-high 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
The dynamic duo stole the show and propelled the Nuggets to their fourth straight win on the road this playoff to take a 2-1 series lead in the Finals.
“I’m just glad that we won the game,” Jokic said after his tremendous performance. “It was a big one for us because they won in our arena. We just didn’t want to go down 2-1.”
For the Heat, Jimmy Butler had a team-high 28 points and shot 11-of-24 from the field in 40 minutes. Bam Adebayo’s fantastic Finals run continues with a 22-point and 17-rebound double-double, but the Nigerian-American struggled thoroughly from the field, shooting just 7-of-21.
Aaron Gordon overcame an illness to pour in 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, while rookie Christian Braun came off the bench to add an impressive 15 points in 19 minutes for the Nuggets.
The two teams will return for Game 4 at the Kaseya Center, as the Heat will look to make homecourt count in order to even the series, while the Nuggets will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins and take a sizable lead before heading back to Denver.
