With a monster triple-double Game 3 from Nikola Jokic (32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists) and Jamal Murray (34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), the Denver Nuggets regained homecourt advantage and defeated the Miami Heat 109-94 in the NBA Finals (www.NBA.com) this morning. The Nuggets shot 51 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Heat 65-41 and will look to take control of the series on Friday night, before the best-of-seven series returns to Denver on Monday.
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 28 and 22 points respectively, but struggled on the offensive end of the floor and were the only Heat players who scored in double figures. Adebayo also added 17 rebounds.
Game 4 is on Friday night (Saturday morning, 2:30 a.m. CAT). The Nuggets lead the series 2-1.
Quotes
MICHAEL MALONE (Denver Nuggets head coach on Jokic and Murray): “That’s what champions do. That’s what warriors do. They battled back. I felt his presence all day long. Forget the stats for a second. I felt Jamal’s presence, his energy, and he was here in the moment, and for him and Nikola to do what they did tonight in a game that we needed to take, regain home-court advantage of the series was special to watch.”
NIKOLA JOKIC: (Denver Nuggets): “It’s not just us, it’s the team, and like I said even before the series started, Denver Nuggets need to beat Miami, not me and Jamal and whoever is on the other side. We as a group need to beat them.”
JAMAL MURRAY (Denver Nuggets): “It’s a trust and a feel, that’s the best way for me to put it. It’s not really X’s and O’s. It’s just reading the game and trusting that the other is going to make the right play. If he throws it to me, he knows and expects what to see from me, and he knows the mood I’m in, the intensity I’m playing with, whether it’s low or high, time and score, and vice versa.”
