Jack87 news today, asianbookie Denver’s Nikola Jokic drives in Game 3 of NBA Finals vs. Miami
The Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 109-94 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Casea Center in Miami, Florida on Wednesday to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
For the first time in league history, a player scored 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in the Finals, and his name was Nikola Jokic. This is his 10th triple-double in the playoffs this year, and it is also the third time in his career that he has scored at least 30+20+10 in the playoffs. Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two of the greatest centers of all time, have done it once before.
Wednesday night was also the first time in NBA Finals history that two players from one team recorded a triple-double in one game. Jamal Murray had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Nuggets. Murray, who performed poorly in the second game and lost the game, quickly heated up in the third game, scoring 20 points on 8 of 13 shots in the first half.
Denver Nuggets’ Christian Braun dunks against the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals
Coach Michael Malone has also made effective changes for the Nuggets on the defensive end. In Wednesday’s game, the team was quicker to close plays in defensive coverage, taking 3-pointers from the Heat’s offense from the start. The Nuggets started the third quarter more defensively. Although Butler made good use of the opportunity of dislocation offense and scored 12 points, the rest of the team only scored 8 points on 14 shots and 11 turnovers during this period.
The Heat’s winning formula in this year’s playoffs has been sharp 3-point shooting and disciplined, smart defensive rotation. The Nuggets cut through the former with better defensive communication. The reason why the Heat gave up the latter was because they could not contain the offense of the three ball handlers Jokic, Murray and Braun.
Still, dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that both the Nuggets’ strengths and the Heat’s weaknesses stem from differences in talent. When the 1xbet ball is below the free throw line, the Heat have no one to stop Jokic. Murray’s strong shooting ability forced Adebayor to block him on many possessions, thus making the inside vulnerable. The Nuggets lead in interior points (60-34) and total rebounds (58-33).
Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler drives to the rim in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets
In contrast, each of the eight players in the Nuggets’ rotation on Wednesday was able to at least slow Butler and prevent him from driving to the rim easily without additional help from his teammates. They made Butler work hard for every point and didn’t give him enough space to pass the ball to his teammates for easy scores.
As for Adebayor, he used 21 FGs to score 22 points. Half of his 14 missed shots came at the rim. The Nuggets were willing to let him catch and shoot, and he made just four of them. His 10 free throws and six offensive rebounds were impressive, but not enough to make an impact.
Game 4 of the series will be played Friday at the Kaseya Center.
Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray takes a shot in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat
By hitting three difficult 3-pointers in the second quarter, Murray forced the Heat to devote more defensive attention to him. Starting in the third quarter, Murray’s Jimmy Butler and Jokic’s Bam Adebayo often double-teamed Murray, and Jokic screened for Murray at the top of the arc. As a result, Murray was 4-for-9 from the field (FGs) and only made one 3-pointer in the second half. However, such a defensive policy allowed Jokic to be released.
Jokic scored 12 points in the third quarter and led his teammates to continuously attack the Heat inside. Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon combined for six shots at the rim. Braun didn’t dish out any assists during that stretch, but his combination of dribble drives and kick passes was an integral part of the Nuggets’ ball-handling movement, creating plenty of open shots.
