2023 NBA Finals: Are Denver Nuggets the most underrated team ever?
USA TODAY Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt explains why the casual fan hasn’t appreciated the talents of the Denver Nuggets.
Sports Pulse
MIAMI — No matter how many basketball games a person has watched − whether you saw Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell dominate, whether you watched Michael Jordan and Tim Duncan win titles, whether you witnessed Kobe Bryant and LeBron James carry teams − no one has ever seen what transpired in Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat.
NBA history bloomed in Denver’s 109-94 victory Wednesday.
Nuggets two-time MVP center Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the first player in league history to record a 30-point, 20-rebound triple-double in the NBA Finals.
That was beautiful basketball unto itself, a dominating performance for which Miami had no solution.
Then, include Nuggets guard Jamal Murray’s 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and it adds another historical dimension.
Never before − regular season or playoffs − have two players delivered 30-point triple-doubles in the same NBA game.
That’s 76 seasons and tens of thousands of games of professional hoops.
“I’ve been with Nikola for eight and Jamal for seven years now, and we’ve had some pretty good moments, but not in the NBA Finals,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “For those guys to make history the way they did tonight, no one has ever done that. That’s what’s really neat about it, you get the win.”
STAY UP-TO-DATE: Subscribe to our Sports newsletter now!
Asked to reflect on his accomplishment, Jokic said, “I just think it’s a win because if you lose, nobody is going to even mention it. Even to be honest, I don’t care. It’s just a stat.”
Jokic’s humility and commitment to winning above individual achievement is admirable.
But just a stat? Nope. Not even close.
The Nuggets needed that from Jokic to take a 2-1 series lead. It is obvious that the best Nikola Jokic is the Nikola Jokic who is at or near a triple-double. He had 41 points in Miami’s Game 2 victory but just four assists. When he’s scoring and recording assists, it makes the Nuggets difficult to guard.
The Heat prefer Jokic score more and pass less. When he’s doing both, they are overmatched.
“He just makes the game look easy throughout the game, and like I said, just free throws, his touch, his creativity, his no-look passes, his IQ,” Murray said. “I could go down the line. He’s a special, special player.”
It was Jokic’s NBA-record 10th triple-double in a single postseason and his 16th career playoff triple-double, which is third all-time behind Magic Johnson (30) and LeBron James (28).
Through 18 playoff games, he is averaging a triple-double: 30.5 points, 13.4 rebounds and 10.1 assists while shooting 54.6% from the field and 47% on 3-pointers. Game 3 was his second triple-double in the Finals, and no player has ever had three triple-doubles in one Finals. If Denver gets two more victories, the path to a title likely includes at least another from Jokic.
Maybe the Nuggets didn’t need every bit of Murray’s triple-double. He collected his 10th rebound on the final shot of the game, but Miami was within nine points a minute earlier. The way Murray started scoring and then continually found his sweet spots on the court kept Miami from having a chance, especially in the fourth quarter when Murray had 12 points, five rebounds and two assists. He is also the first player to deliver at least 10 assists in his first three Finals games.
“He knows where to find the guys and how to control the game,” Jokic said.
There are great duos in the NBA, and the Jokic-Murray duo has emerged as one of the best. Their pick-and-roll game is devastating to opponents. They try to make sure the other is getting enough touches to make the offense work. They know how to maximize their strengths and each other’s.
“I’d say it’s a trust and a feel, that’s the best way for me to put it. It’s not really Xs and Os,” Murray said. “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. …
“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. It’s free flowing. If something is there, we go. If it’s not, we don’t force it.”
It is spellbinding to watch two players control a game with scoring, rebounding and passing.
Other than the NBA and its broadcast partners, it’s no one else’s job to sell these Finals to a sports-watching public. But you’re missing out if you’re not watching Jokic and Murray. You’re missing NBA history.
Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt
