Led by triple-doubles king Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets took a first step towards the title in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.
The Nuggets, the best main round team in the Western Conference, won the start of the NBA Finals on Thursday evening (06/01/2023, local time) against the surprise team Miami Heat after a dominant performance with 104:93.
Jokic with the next triple-double
The outstanding player was once again the two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. The Serb scored 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in the Nuggets’ first final game in the North American professional league. In the 16th playoff game this season, Jokic made a triple-double for the ninth time.
Teammate Jamal Murray contributed 26 points and ten assists to the success. In the Heat, Bam Adebayo was the best pitcher with 26 points, Jimmy Butler had 13 points.
Nuggets leader Jokic: “We wanted the first punch”
“We have great respect for this team. We just wanted to land the first punch. They won their first away games and we didn’t want that to happen‘ Jokic said. “The most important thing right now is to win a game. I know I don’t need to score to dominate a game. It’s a great win for us.”
The 104:93 against the Miami Heat was ultimately a clear affair: Except for 5:4 and 7:6 early in the first quarter, the Heat did not have a lead. Miami was only able to reduce the deficit to under ten points in the final minutes, but remained inferior for long stretches of the game.
Although Denver was nine days off after beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4-0 in the Western Conference Finals and the Heat were still active against the Boston Celtics three days earlier, the Nuggets had the better rhythm and seemed more alert.
Game two of the best-of-seven series will also take place in Denver on Tuesday night.