Denver Nuggets beat Miami Heat in Game 1 of NBA finals after Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray’s heroics

Denver Nuggets drew first blood in NBA Finals as they bested Miami Heat by 104-93 at the Ball Arena on Thursday night to take a crucial 1-0 lead. As expected, Nikola Jokic played a key role in the team’s success, scoring a triple-double.

The Serbian scored 27 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds and joined Jason Kidd as the second player to make their NBA Finals debut with a triple-double. Furthermore, Jamal Murray provided support to Jokic as he scored 26 points in his team’s comprehensive win.

Jokic’s tally of 14 assists was the most by any player in his first NBA Finals game. In fact, Jokic had a slow start to the game but he was able to turn the corner quickly in the second half.

“That’s the beauty of Nikola,” head coach Michael Malone said of Jokic not looking to score aggressively to start the game. “I learned a long time ago, the defense tells you what to do, and Nikola never forces it. If they’re going to give him that kind of attention, he had 10 assists at halftime. Well, he’s going to just pick you apart.”

On the other hand, Jamal Murray added aim is to win the NBA Championship and he is delighted that they were able to come up with a collective show to get the crucial early lead in the series.

“We just want to win a championship,” Murray said. “I think it’s just fluent, beautiful basketball. The ball is hopping and we’re just playing off each other. You can have a great game with only five shots until the fourth.

“Just making reads on the basketball court. I think that’s the beauty of what this team is, we have so many different weapons and so many different looks. You’ve got to guard to everybody. Jokic dominated until the fourth quarter, and it didn’t even feel like it. Yeah, it’s free flowing, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Jokic was also delighted with his team’s performance against the Heat.

“I think we did a good job,” Jokic said.

The second game of the series will be played on Sunday night.