NBA Finals: Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray Team Up as Nuggets Try to Establish Its Prowess

MIAMI — The Denver Nuggets needed a boost heading into Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Finals in South Florida after suffering their first home loss in over two months.

Fortunately, the two-man game between supernova center Nikola Jokic and fiery guard Jamal Murray had given them 438 regular season games, 14,000 total minutes, and uncountable millions of reps to construct a pretty damn trustworthy support system.

‘A lot of guys play with each other,’ Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. As one observer put it, “I think those two guys play for each other, off of each other, and they read each other so well.”

In Game 3, the Nuggets got up off the mat and launched a haymaker back at the Heat behind their two-time MVP and their flamethrowing firebrand, putting on display the trust, respect, communication, caring, and togetherness that had been building for seven years.

With a combined 66 points, 31 rebounds, and 20 assists on Wednesday night, Jokic and Murray reclaimed home-court advantage from the Heat in an overpowering 109-94 victory.

Is this the best game of basketball we’ve ever had? Said Joke. I’m stumped. Until we stop winning games, I don’t see a problem. The gentle giant was reluctant to agree with the theory, but his instructor was more open to the idea.

“You know, I’ve been with Nikola for eight years and Jamal for seven years now, and we’ve had some pretty good moments,” Malone said. Not in the NBA Finals, though; that was their best performance together in seven years.

It’s hard to disagree with that assessment, given the historic nature of the duo’s performance: they scored or assisted on 84 of Denver’s 109 points, and it was the first 30-20-10 game in NBA Finals history and the first time teammates had 30-point triple-doubles in the same game in NBA history, regular season or playoffs.

Three of Wilt Chamberlain’s and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s two 30-20-10 postseason performances in NBA history now go to Jokic. Malone joked after the game that Murray, who spent two years as Denver’s backup shooting guard, is the only player in Finals history to record 10 or more assists in each of his first three outings.

The focal point, as it has been for the past seven years: Murray with a live dribble, Jokic’s ambling up to release him free, and an infinite number of opportunities expanding outward from them.

What is it exactly? “I’d say it’s a trust and a feel — that’s the best way for me to put it,” Murray replied. You can’t just solve it with Xs and Os. It’s just a matter of reading the other player and having faith that they’ll make the appropriate move. If he pitches it to me, he knows what to expect.

After seven years, the team has a deeper level of familiarity, anticipation, and comprehension than simply how to carry out the play.

“He knows the mood I’m in,” Murray remarked. Time, score, and how hard or easy I’m trying to play are all factors. And likewise, I can tell when he’s trying to overpass or score. When he’s playing at his best, I can tell. I can tell when he’s hesitating to really commit to the game. I think it’s just a gut feeling and confidence that we’ll work it out. And it involves a great deal of selflessness.

Jamal Murray

However, there are instances when getting a shot for yourself is the most selfless thing you can do for the team.

In Game 2, the Heat were able to stymie Denver’s attack by playing Jokic one-on-one and Jimmy Butler on Murray to prevent the Nuggets’ point guard from dishing up high-quality looks to his teammates.

By doubling down on what has long been Denver’s bread-and-butter action, Malone and his coaching staff found an elegant solution to get Butler off Murray more often, to get Murray’s downhill aggression going, and to get Jokic more opportunities to make plays in space.

Heat guard Gabe Vincent commented, “They got to their two-man early, and it was pretty effective for them tonight.”

According to Second Spectrum, the 32 times that Joki screened for Murray in the pick-and-roll on Wednesday were the most of the series, the most of this playoff run, and tied for the most of the season.

(Thirteen dribble handoffs were included.) In the first quarter alone, ten of them resulted in a shot and 12 points. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra chose to switch things up after a hot start in order to throw Denver’s studs off their game.

Jamal Murray “kind of made Jokic’s game a little bit easier,” said Heat guard Kyle Lowry. We had to pitch in for Jamal. He established the mood, which made things easy for Jokic.

Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. remarked, “They were kind of trapping Mal a little bit more.” “Mal finally gave up and went to find Jok for some simple ones.”

Murray’s performance away from the Miami blitzes wasn’t always flawless, and it was a factor in his seven turnovers (the night’s lone misstep).

However, he was usually able to remain composed under duress, ultimately leading to productive results for the offense.

Murray consistently showed the patience to string the play out and get off the ball on Wednesday, when the Heat blitzed a Murray-Jokic screen, resulting in one point per chance for Denver. “If you put two on the ball [against] Jamal, and he finds Nikola in the pocket, something good usually happens,” Malone said.

For example: “The midrange shot where he’s nearly automatic, Aaron [Gordon] or Jeff [Green] working behind the defense, or blasting out to a 3-point shooter. Jamal was having the type of game that you want from your starting point guard, and he adapted to the way he was being guarded.

The Nuggets’ starting point guard realized that he needed to step up his performance in Game 3 compared to Game 2. According to Malone, Murray told him in a conversation on Tuesday that “he was putting a lot of Game 2 on him,” meaning that he took the blame for Denver’s loss.

After Game 3, Murray admitted, “I felt like I didn’t bring the intensity that the moment called for.” “I didn’t play horribly, but there was so much more I wanted to do.”

Jamal Murray

What is the greatest way for a ballplayer to put the past behind them and move on? Again, a game.

Murray: “Most people who have watched the Nuggets play would agree that after a game like that, I usually come back stronger.”

Jamal Murray

This is not an exaggeration. Denver’s lone first-round setback came in Game 4 against the Timberwolves, and after scoring 19 points on 8-for-21 shooting, Murray scored a game-high 35 points in Game 5 to seal the deal.

After scoring just 10 points on 3-for-15 shooting in Game 2 against the Suns, Murray went on to score 26.3 points per game on 47.40.90 shooting as the Nuggets swept Phoenix in six games.

Moreover, Murray came out firing on all cylinders on Wednesday, looking for ways to assault the paint, weaken the defense, and break the coverage that had stifled him in Game 2.

That strategy resulted in 20 points, eight trips to the free throw line, and a couple balloon-puncturing jumpers in the first half, all of which seemed to deflate Miami every time the Heat put together a good sequence of plays.

A guard for the Nuggets, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, remarked on the magnitude of the shots being taken. He’s a big shot, so when he sees a mismatch he’s expected to take it. He walked right up to them and destroyed them.

“That’s what champions do,” Malone declared. That’s what brave men and women do. They’re fighting back. He is the type of person who excels and prospers in the present. Zero apprehension. That’s not true with many other players.

You might say that about Jokic, who needed only 75 seconds of halftime rest before scoring 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to make Miami’s defensive adjustments ineffective.

Denver’s lead ballooned to 21 points early in the fourth quarter behind Jokic’s feasting and Murray’s dealing, while Miami was completely unable to convert from the inside or the outside.

If you want to believe in his game, or our game, or whatever, “how many times does [Jokic] have to do that?” Asked Murray. “I mean, he’s just doing it, and it looks so simple on his part. We’re all out of ideas for what to say.

We’ll have new things to say about Jokic, Murray, and the rest of the Nuggets (special shout out to Christian Braun) if they can repeat this kind of performance twice more. Assuming, of course, that they don’t render us completely helpless.

Gordon remarked, “That’s awesome, dude.” It’s fantastic, really.

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