Jokic gets triple-double, Nuggets beat Heat 104-93 in Game 1 of Finals

DENVER (AP)— Nikola Jokic got a triple-double in his NBA Finals debut, JamalMurray scored 26 points and the Denver Nuggets had little troublewith the cold-shooting Miami Heat on the way to a 104-93 win inGame 1 on Thursday night.

Jokicfinished with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for theNuggets, who waited 47 years to make the finals and didn’tdisappoint. Aaron Gordon added 16 points and Michael Porter Jr.scored 14 for Denver, which trailed for all of 34 seconds andeventually led by as many as 24.

Bam Adebayofinished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, which shot 41%for the game — 33% from 3-point range. Gabe Vincent scored 19,Haywood Highsmith had 18 and Jimmy Butler added 13 for theHeat.

Game 2 isin Denver on Sunday night.

Miamiopened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, cutting an 84-63 deficitto start the final period down to 84-74. The Heat actually gotwithin nine on a 3-pointer by Highsmith with 2:34 left, but nocloser and there wasn’t any doubt, either.

Nuggetscoach Michael Malone gave his team a pop quiz in shootaroundThursday morning, peppering them with questions about the game planand what had to be done in the most important game to date infranchise history.

They hadall the answers then. Had them all at game time, too. They were theteam with minimal NBA Finals experience, only two players havingbeen to the title round before, and yet they looked right at homebefore the home crowd in Game 1.

Jokicbecame the second player in the last 25 years — LeBron James wasthe other, in 2017 — to have 10 assists by halftime of a finalsgame. He had 10 points and 10 assists by the break, and Denver wasup 59-42 after the first two quarters.

That wasn’tgood for Miami. Nor was this: The Nuggets were in full control andJokic had taken only three shots.

And thispart was worse: The Heat just couldn’t shoot. At all. Or at least,not until Denver was too far ahead to catch. Max Strus was 0 for 10through three quarters, 0 for 9 on 3-pointers. Caleb Martin — whonarrowly missed out on winning the MVP award of the EasternConference finals — was 1 for 7.

TIP-INS

Heat: Miamifell to 1-6 all-time in Game 1s of the NBA Finals. The Heat lostthe series opener in each of their title years — 2006, 2012 and2013 — and the only win came in 2011, a series they eventually lostto Dallas. … Adebayo’s 25 shots were a career high. He became thethird player to score at least 24 points for Miami in a Game 1 of afinals. James did it three times for the Heat and Dwyane Wade didit in 2006.

Nuggets:Jokic became the eighth player to have a triple-double in Game 1 ofa finals. None of the others were accompanied by 27 points; DaveCowens had a 25-point triple-double to open the 1976 finals. ...Bruce Brown, who played his college ball at Miami, scored 10. …Denver got to the foul line 20 times to Miami’s two.

CELEBWATCH

Among thosein the sellout crowd: Grammy winner H.E.R., NFL legend and formerDenver quarterback Peyton Manning, current Denver quarterbackRussell Wilson, Broncos coach Sean Payton and actor-comedian KenJeong.