Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the rest of the Denver Nuggets circled around head coach Michael Malone in their pregame locker room Thursday night. Nine days separated the Western Conference champions from Game 1 of the NBA Finals, a game Denver would need to buck an incredible trend in order to win. Miami stole the first game, on the road, in each of the Heat’s three series throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. Malone was adamant that the streak would come to an end at Ball Arena.
“Not tonight,” Malone barked. “Not in our house.”
A dominant showing, with another masterful triple-double from All-NBA center Nikola Jokic, and the Nuggets thwarted Miami’s run of road victories by extending their own impressive streak, now 7-0 at home during this postseason following Denver’s 104-93 win. Jokic carved Miami’s defense like a quarterback, tallying 10 first-half assists to various receivers and 10 points on just three buckets en route to a final line of 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds. Wherever the two-time MVP gathered the ball, whether at the top of the key or on the low block, Jokic found an open shooter or slung a bounce pass to a cutter through the lane.
Jokic found Aaron Gordon most often during the game's opening moments. The Nuggets' size over Miami's rangy wings was one of the matchup storylines league personnel were considering before this championship matchup, and the early action often left Gordon isolated against the smaller Caleb Martin or Heat point guard Gabe Vincent — both easily overpowered by the 6-foot-10 forward Denver acquired at the 2021 NBA trade deadline.
