Nikola Jokic’s historic performance gives the Denver Nuggets a valuable win. Denver moved back into the National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship Series with a win over the Miami Heat.

The Nuggets defeated the Heat 109-94 in Game 3 of the best-of-seven 2022-2023 NBA Championship on Monday at the Amway Center in Miami, Florida. With a 2-1 series lead, the Nuggets are two games away from their first franchise title. Meanwhile, Miami, which is attempting to become the first No. 8 seed in NBA history, was unable to carry over the momentum from its Game 2 victory on the road and dropped its second straight at home. Game 4 will be played at the same venue on Tuesday.

Denver’s ace center Jokic was at the center of the victory. With 32 points and 21 rebounds to go along with 10 assists, Jokic recorded his 10th triple-double of the playoffs, the first time a player has ever recorded 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in an NBA championship game.

Leading 53-48 at halftime, Denver attacked Miami’s paint with Jokic, who had 12 points and six rebounds in the third quarter alone. Miami responded with 3-pointers, but the gap widened as their shooting percentage dropped, and Denver took a 21-point lead, 93-72, just over three minutes into the fourth quarter. Miami got as close as 94-103 with 1:32 left in the game when Duncan Robinson hit two straight 3-pointers, but ran out of time.

In addition to Jokic, Denver also got a triple-double from Jermaine Murray with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, while Christian Brown off the bench added 15 points. Miami was led by Jimmy Butler’s 28 points and Bam Adebayo’s 22 points-17 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough. A 33-58 rebounding deficit proved to be the difference.

After the historic win, Jokic said after the game, “I’m just happy that the team won. It’s just a record. I don’t care about it.” 메이저사이트