Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic And Jamal Murray Make History In NBA Finals

MIAMI – Early in the third quarter of Wednesday’s Game 3 of the NBA Finals, it was evident Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were on the cusp of something special.

Did it feel like an historical feat was within grasp? Not really.

But there was something brewing. Jokic and Murray’s performance up to that point, holding a double-digit lead on the road against the Miami Heat, had everyone in the building asking the same question. Whether they pondered silently, or groaned as the Nuggets kept adding points to the board.

What is the solution for these guys?

The dynamic Mile High duo was picking apart the Heat’s defense, attacking every gap and taking advantage of any mismatch Miami gifted them.

As the arena went silent during a Heat timeout, I mentioned the possibility of Game 3 being the most critical night of Jokic and Murray’s career as teammates.

They completed the task by earning a double-digit victory and making history along the way.

Jokic and Murray became the first duo to record 30-point triple doubles, in any game, in NBA history. Their combined production was ludicrous, amounting to 66 points, 31 rebounds, and 20 points. Oh, and their total scoring came on 65.9% true shooting — almost eight full points above league average.

Since the 1976 NBA and ABA merger, no duo has combined for that collection of points, rebounds, and assists in any Finals game.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who has been with this tandem for seven years, senses the love and connection between his two leaders.

“A lot of guys play with each other, but I think those two guys play for each other and off of each other and they read each other so well,” Malone said of the duo.

Murray and Jokic have assisted each other on 27 total baskets to begin the Finals, an average of nine times per game. Part of that is just by nature. Point guards and big men are going to find each other more often than wing tandems. For instance, you will never see Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, or Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, with those assist totals between each other.

At the same time, what we’re seeing is the evolution of the Murray-Jokic partnership — the culmination of 10,652 minutes they’ve spent together, and all of the practice reps that helped both players master every possible read they can make in the halfcourt.

“I’d say it’s a trust and a feel, that’s the best way for me to put it,” Murray said of his connection with Jokic. “It’s not really Xs and Os. 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.”

Additionally, after this many years in the same locker room, Murray is able to detect when Jokic is toggling between Shaq-like scorer and seven-foot Magic Johnson.

“I know when he’s overpassing, I know when he’s looking to score,” he added. “I know when he’s the best player on the floor, I know when he’s taking a second to get into the game. I think it’s just a feel and a trust that we’re going to figure it out, and it’s a lot of unselfishness, like I keep bringing that up. It’s free flowing. If something is there, we go. If it’s not, we don’t force it. He makes tough shots look easy, and he’s been doing it for a very long time. I think the consistency doesn’t get talked about enough.”

Jokic and Murray’s 66 combined points in Game 3 matched the Heat’s entire starting lineup. They walked into South Florida, planted their flag, and reclaimed homecourt advantage after having a disappointing fourth quarter in Game 2.

But it wasn’t just the scoring on Wednesday. The attention Jokic and Murray absorb in their pick & roll actions and two-man handoff sets allows Denver’s role players to flourish. It’s death by a thousand cuts when you face the Nuggets, as teams quickly realize there’s no way to account for every moving piece on the floor.

Denver illustrated that in the third quarter when they started to pull away. On consecutive possessions, Jokic and Murray found a cutting Aaron Gordon for dunks. The first was Jokic attacking a lazy closeout by Bam Adebayo, as Kevin Love had to rotate over to the two-time MVP. The second was Murray turning the corner on a side pick & roll, with Gordon roaming the dunker spot waiting for Love to leave his body:

Denver outscored Miami 60-34 in the paint, and the Jokic-Murray connection fueled every bit of it. Those two proved they can control the game in multiple facets, particularly breaking down the defense and making plays for others.

“The best part about it is early in the game, Jamal was getting blitzed,” Malone said. “He had two guys on him a lot, and he didn’t fight it. I think early in the playoffs, there were games where he was getting attention and he was trying to make like the home run play maybe at times, but for him tonight to come off [screens] — ‘I got two guys on me? I’m just going to find Nikola in the pocket or Christian Braun cutting’, whatever it may be.”

The fact their 30-point triple doubles came in the NBA Finals is not only staggering, but a perfect example of how both guys continue elevating their play when the lights are brightest.

Pressure makes diamonds, and that’s exactly why the Nuggets’ star duo welcomes these moments. All year, they’ve heard the chatter about how they don’t have what it takes to survive against certain teams. How they’re a fun regular season juggernaut that will flame out in the playoffs once a bad matchup appears. How their defensive weaknesses will prevent them from winning at the highest level.

Jokic and Murray continue slamming the door on every narrative, every piece of criticism, that’s come their way.

What people haven’t realized the whole time is, they are the bad matchup. They are the ones who force adjustments. That’s the degree to which their offensive flow and cohesion destroy opposing defenses in the halfcourt.

You cannot find appropriate counters to what they do. Every time an opposing coach thinks there’s an answer, Jokic’s unparalleled basketball IQ finds another crack.

When that is sealed, Murray punishes you with pull-up jumpers.

Game 3 was a monumental night for Murray, in particular, because of how hard he was taking the previous loss. His coaches and teammates tried to lift his spirits when the series shifted to Miami, but they knew only a huge bounce-back performance would heal him.

“I’m really proud of Jamal,” Malone said. “And I could tell speaking to him yesterday, being around him the last 48 hours, that he was putting a lot of Game 2 on him. But it wasn’t just him. It was me and every one of our players. It was collective. But 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. For him and Nikola to do what they did tonight, in a game that we needed to take to regain home-court advantage of the series, was special to watch.”

Murray is indisputably having the best playoff run in history among non All-Stars.

Yep, he’s still yet to make an All-Star roster, largely due to his ACL injury interfering with his prime. Before this season, the only year he was on the border of All-Star consideration was 2020-21, when he only played in 48 of 72 games. Plus, while he was always a household name, it’s hard for Western Conference guards to break into All-Star status with the legendary competition they are battling against.

Fairly or unfairly, a player’s postseason success determines how they are viewed in those discussions. Once you taste the Finals or win a championship, more respect is given.

After this unbelievable postseason he’s having, Murray will be near the top of everyone’s mind for next year’s All-Star voting, assuming he has a steady season.

In this 18-game playoff run, Murray is now averaging 27.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.8 assists on 59.8% true shooting. He’s converting 60% of his attempts at the rim, 52.3% of his looks in the floater range, 50.5% of his mid-range jumpers, and 39.6% of his threes.

This phrase tends to be overused, but he’s displaying a complete masterclass. It’s a pure dissection of the defense at all three levels, and the only reason we’re not talking more about Murray is very simple: His teammate might be having the most outrageous two-month playoff run the sport has seen, from an individual perspective.

Jokic is averaging 30.5 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 10.1 assists in his 18 playoff games. To contextualize how laughable that is, consider that only five players in NBA history had finished a playoff run (min. 15 games) averaging at least 20-8-8. Only five players.

Nobody has matched the 30-10-10 mark this deep into the playoffs. Jokic is standing alone in history. LeBron James was the closest in 2015, averaging 30-11-9 over 20 games. He also was on the doorstep in 2018 with 34-9-9.

Out of all of the instances of players being close to a 30-point triple double average in a postseason run, it should not shock you that Jokic is having the most efficient stretch.

After Game 3, we couldn’t even say Jokic joined the 30-20-10 playoff club. Because he was already welcomed as a member — twice. He notched his third career playoff game with those numbers, and they have all come within the last 24 months:

“What he does, he makes it look so easy,” Murray said about his teammate. “[He] grabbed 21 boards and everybody is talking about he can’t jump, and he’s out there battling everyone, he’s physical, he’s strong. [Scores] 30 points, people say he doesn’t want to score. He gives you 32. He just makes the game look easy throughout the game. Like I said, just free throws, his touch, his creativity, his no-look passes, his IQ. I could go down the line. He’s a special, special player.”

Special, indeed. But even that word is beginning to lose some meaning based on how often it’s used for the Serbian center.

Let’s be clear. Nobody is confusing the Denver Nuggets for one of the greatest teams ever, mostly because their defense can get shaky in certain moments. But it’s certainly notable that Jokic and Murray are on the verge of completing a Kobe and Shaq-like stretch.

Their scoring, rebounding, and efficiency metrics are almost identical to the Lakers’ superstar duo from the 2001 playoffs, when LA went 15-1 en route to a championship. They also outscored teams by a record point differential.

Denver is quite there. The defense hasn’t been elite like those Lakers were. But one thing is for sure. Just like in 2001, a guard and center duo are flummoxing every opponent that steps in front of them.

That’s going to be the difference. That’s the separator in this NBA Finals matchup. One team has a wicked pick & roll attack. And the other is the Miami Heat.