BBNBA Finals: Jamal Murray makes history as Nuggets take Game 3

ZGeogheganKSR

Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic did something last night that had never happened in an NBA game before. Not just in an NBA Finals game, but in any sort of NBA game that has ever been played throughout the league’s 77-ish years of history.

On Wednesday night, Murray and Jokic BOTH dropped 30-point triple-doubles, the first pair of teammates to ever do so. Murray went for 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in over 44 minutes of action while Jokic posted 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists in over 43 minutes. It was also the first time in Finals history that a pair of teammates recorded triple-doubles — these two just decided to create a new milestone by dropping 30-plus points apiece.

“By far, their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said postgame. Tough to argue against that.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are the first teammates in NBA history (regular season, postseason, or Finals) to BOTH record 30+ point triple-doubles in the same game!

Jokic: 32 PTS, 21 REB, 10 AST
Murray: 34 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST pic.twitter.com/13OvfXaQw9
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) June 8, 2023

Naturally, these performances led to an easy win for Coach Malone and company as the top-seeded Denver Nuggets took Game 3 of the NBA Finals over the eight-seeded Miami Heat in South Beach by a final score of 109-94. After the game was tied 24-24 through the opening quarter of play, Denver took over from there, leading by as many as 21 points before cruising to the 15-point victory. The Nuggets now hold a 2-1 series lead as Game 4 stays in Miami on Friday night — the shortest break between games of the entire Finals schedule.

Denver outrebounded Miami 58-33 and shot over 51 percent from the field compared to the Heat’s 37 percent. Although the Heat turned the ball over just four times all night long (Denver recorded 13 miscues), there was simply no slowing down Murray and Jokic.

In spite of his seven turnovers, Murray shot 12-22 overall and 3-6 from beyond the arc. His 10th rebound that completed the triple-double came with just nine seconds left in regulation, too. Murray is also just the third player in NBA Finals history with three straight games of at least 10 assists, joining Magic Johnson (who did it six times) and Bob Cousy. He is a star right now, folks.

Jimmy Butler on Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray: "We’re going to get back to the film and figure it out because we do have to be better guarding both of those guys. One is the ball-hander and one is the guy that is setting the screen and popping and rolling." pic.twitter.com/1Y4ck05R5W
— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) June 8, 2023

Miami has been known to make furious comebacks throughout these playoffs, scoring more fourth-quarter points than any other team in the postseason, but that wasn’t the case in Game 3. Denver strolled into the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead and never let the Heat trim it to single digits. Bam Adebayo finished with a solid line of 22 points, 17 rebounds, and three assists in nearly 41 minutes for Miami, but he shot just 7-21 from the field. Jimmy Butler contributed 28 points on 11-24 shooting for the Heat.

Tyler Herro once again watched from the Miami bench as he continues to rehab his broken shooting hand, which has sidelined him for nearly two months now. He was ruled out the day ahead of Game 3 and it’s beginning to sound more and more like a return to the hardwood is not imminent.

Herro has been ramping up for a return since the Finals began, participating in pregame shooting drills ahead of Games 1 and 2. That being said, he recently told ESPN reporter Ros Gold-Onwude that he is experiencing “soreness and swelling” in his hand after going through his shooting motion. Not ideal for someone known as a shooter.

With or without Herro, Miami will need a bounceback performance for Friday’s Game 4 to avoid a 3-1 series deficit.