Nikola Jokic’s 12-point third quarter saw the wheels turn in motion for a determined Denver side, who surged ahead to a 19-point lead before the end of the third quarter and didn’t relinquish it this time around as they silenced Kaseya Center with a series-altering away victory against Miami overnight.
Nuggets nudge ahead to seize 2-1 Finals lead
- Nikola Jokic becomes first player in NBA Finals history with 30-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist game while Jamal Murray has another triple-double
- “This guy has shown time and again, he’s built for these moments, thrives in the biggest stage – did that once again tonight,” Nuggets head coach Mike Malone says on topic of his two-time MVP during post-game presser
- Game 3 winner in a Finals series tied 1-1 has gone onto clinch said series 80% of the time (32/40), Game 4 in Miami early Saturday (1.30am BST)
After a disappointing Game 2 by his standards, it felt inevitable Jamal Murray began aggressively as the series travelled to Miami and he did just that.
As such, it wasn’t surprising to hear from head coach Michael Malone post-game, that his 26-year-old star shooting guard took their defeat harder than most and put the responsibility on his own shoulders. The subsequent response spoke volumes.
“I’m really proud of Jamal, I could tell speaking to him yesterday, being around him the last 48 hours, he was putting a lot of Game 2 on him, and it wasn’t just him. It was me and every one of our players, collective, but that’s what champions and warriors do – they battled back.”
He scored eight of their first ten points, while Nikola Jokic wasn’t far behind as the dynamic duo scored or assisted on 42 of their first 47 points during a game with multiple lead changes and shrewd storylines aplenty to keep monitoring.
Questions over whether Denver would defend Bam Adebayo any differently, given his success over the first two games, was answered quite emphatically from opening tip.
He started as he meant to go on, confidently bringing the ball up the floor and despite a few near misses, had 13 points and 10 rebounds before half-time.
He finished with 22 points (7-of-21 FGM), 17 rebounds and three assists during a decent but unspectacular showing as Denver were glad his shooting regressed here.
Jimmy Butler had four more shot attempts and one more point at the break, as their star small forward tried picking his spots better. The Nuggets defence still showed defensive lapses in transition, conceding cheap turnovers that were pounced upon.
That allowed Max Strus and Kevin Love to drain open threes, while Caleb Martin wasn’t far behind in that department as the Kaseya Center threatened to swell with excitement from the hosts on more than one occasion during a frenetic first-half.
Denver left open space aplenty early on so Strus capitalised, reeling off four quick assists and finished with a team-high five alongside Kyle Lowry. Ultimately though, this was another rough shooting night to forget for both him and Gabe Vincent.
The latter quickly found himself in foul trouble after some dubious challenges hurt his rhythm early, and Duncan Robinson (3-of-6 3PM) led them from deep in 13 minutes from the bench – a spark plug that probably arrived ten minutes too late.
After a cheap Murray turnover, Robinson drilled a three to cut the lead down to ten with 92 seconds left. They missed their next four shots though, including two hopeful triple attempts by the sharpshooter himself, as the game was put beyond reach.
Braun being the boost Denver need
- Braun had 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field alongside four rebounds, an assist and steal in 19 minutes – his career high is 19, from a blowout regular season loss against Minnesota back in early February
- Michael Porter Jr again was alarmingly disappointing, this time 1-of-7 shooting from the floor with more rebounds (7) than points (2) in 21 minutes as clamour for rookie to take his minutes naturally increasing
Meanwhile, Christian Braun’s second quarter success in Game 2 was mirrored on the road against a Miami team who only committed one turnover in the first 26 minutes.
Jokic called him a champion always making winning plays in his post-game interview and the 22-year-old has stepped up with Michael Porter Jr’s struggles on both sides of the ball painfully apparent through three games.
Aaron Gordon wasn’t very efficient (11 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast) but was more involved than last time out by displaying clever decision-making in-and-around the paint.
Denver outscored Miami 60-34 in the paint and outrebounded them 58-33, with Braun one of many taking advantage of their vulnerabilities in the restricted area.
He continued driving through traffic, unperturbed, and whether it was crafty layups or dunks from the Jokic-Murray-Gordon trifecta, his aggressiveness was rewarded.
“I felt this is by far our best, most complete game of the series. It’s not because of the triple-doubles, or all the individual stats. It’s because we held that team to 94 points, 37 from the field, only 11 threes and to out-rebound somebody by 25 in a Finals game, that’s a significant number right there. I loved our energy, urgency, discipline. We’ll have to be even better come Friday evening.”
- Michael Malone was happy with how his side responded in Game 3
Tyler Herro (broken hand) still is not cleared to play, and if his status changes between now and Game 4 on Friday night, Erik Spoelstra will have another tough decision to make as they look to ease the scoring load from their two best players.
Time is of the essence and unless they can fashion another unlikely turnaround heading into the weekend, they’ll fly to Denver with their season on the line again.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes via ESPN broadcast and The Athletic
Mo and Sports 