The basketball world has just witnessed triple-double history.
For the first time ever, two players on the same team have recorded 30-point triple doubles, a feat never previously accomplished in a regular season game, playoff game, or Finals game.
Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray propelled the Denver Nuggets to the 109-94 victory to get them two wins away from their first championship in their 47-year franchise history.
Jokić even had the first ever 30-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist game in NBA Finals history, finishing with 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists.
It was his third such 30-point, 20-rebound triple-double in his postseason career, the most among any player all-time. Only two other players have recorded 30-point, 20-rebound triple-doubles, those being Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain (once each).
It also was his 7th career 30-point triple-double, breaking a two-way tie with Russell Westbrook for third most all-time. Only Oscar Robertson (eight) and LeBron James (15) have more postseason 30-point triple-doubles.
Murray had his first career 30-point postseason triple-double, finishing with 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, getting the rebound he needed for the triple-double with nine seconds left.
The two have connected on pick-and-rolls many times to great success, with Jokić setting an on-ball screen for Murray 32 times in this game, tied for their most in a game this season and tied for the second-most since they became teammates in 2016, per Second Spectrum tracking data.
Earlier in the Finals, Kyle Lowry compared Jokić and Murray to legendary San Antonio Spurs players Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.
While it was high praise for the both of them, the praise was warranted.
Aaron Gordon added a double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists, and Christian Braun broke through with 15 points off the bench on 7 of 8 shooting.
While the first half was tight, the Nuggets took control of the early phases of the third quarter and set the tone for the rest of the game.
The last time the Heat led was with 3:18 left in the first half, on a Bam Adebayo dunk. A three by Murray changed the pace of the game, and the Nuggets led the rest of the way, taking the lead up to double digits early in the third, and led by as much as 21.
Mike Malone, knowing fully well that the Heat had seven double-digit comebacks in this year's postseason and were 4-5 when trailing by at least eight points entering the 4th quarter, rallied his guys around to ensure that another Miami double-digit comeback would not happen this time.
Jimmy Butler had 28 points, while Adebayo had a double-double of 22 points and 17 rebounds. However, Gabe Vincent, who averaged 21 points in the first two games of the Finals, had seven points of 2 of 10 shooting, while Max Strus had a dismal three points on 1 of 7 shooting.
While Miami stole Game 2 on the road, it was Denver prevailing at Miami's home court in the Heat's first Finals game at their home venue since 2014. There were no “home” games in the 2020 Finals, as they were held in a neutral site in Orlando's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
And the Nuggets' win ensured that they still had not lost two consecutive games to the Heat since March 14th and November 30th, 2016.
Game 4 will be on June 9th at 8:30 PM ET/6:30 PM MT. I will continue to provide coverage of the Finals on Twitter Spaces. Follow me @DatYinzerAlec for the play-by-play!
Injuries
Nuggets: None.
Heat: Tyler Herro was ruled out of Game 3 as he continues to recover from a broken right hand, though head coach Erik Spoelstra said that the Heat are "taking it one day at a time," and that the team was "encouraged" by his rehab.
Triple-Double History
This was Jokić's 10th triple-double of the playoffs, extending his single-season record, and is also the 7th player to have two triple-doubles in the same Finals. Butler, Draymond Green, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird all had one title series with two triple-doubles, while Magic Johnson and LeBron James accomplished this feat in three different Finals.
Down the Bench
The Nuggets went nine deep in the opening 12 minutes of a game since Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals when they put in Reggie Jackson in the first quarter.
Elite Company
Jokić recorded 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in the first quarter, the third player in the last 25 years to record that stat line in any quarter of a Finals game. The only two other players were Stephen Curry (12-7-5) for the Golden State Warriors in the 3rd quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers on June 4th, 2017, and Shaquille O'Neal (12-7-3) for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Philadelphia 76ers on June 8th, 2001.
A New Record
Playing in the final 29.8 seconds of Game 3, Udonis Haslem is now the oldest player in NBA history to appear in the NBA Finals, at 42 years, 363 days, breaking a record set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on June 13th, 1989 (42 years, 58 days).
Haslem turns 43 on Friday.
Spot the Celebrity
Dwyane Wade, who won Finals MVP with the Heat in 2006 and was also part of their 2012 and 2013 championship teams in the "Big Three" era, was in attendance for Game 3, alongside former teammate Mike Miller.
Other celebrities in attendance were DJ Khaled, musician Shakira, rapper J. Cole (who played a role in getting Caleb Martin to Miami), Lakers great Magic Johnson, and soccer greats Neymar and Paul Pogba (on the same day Lionel Messi signed with Inter Miami of the MLS).
Scoring by Quarter
1st Quarter: Nuggets 24, Heat 24—Game tied 24-24
2nd Quarter: Nuggets 29, Heat 24—Nuggets lead 53-48
3rd Quarter: Nuggets 29, Heat 20—Nuggets lead 82-68
4th Quarter: Nuggets 27, Heat 26—Nuggets win 109-94
Box Score
Denver Nuggets
Jamal Murray: 34 points (12/22 FG; 3/6 3PT; 7/8 FT), 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 7 turnovers, 2 fouls, 44:35
Nikola Jokić: 32 points (12/21 FG; 1/2 3PT; 7/8 FT), 21 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 43:44
Christian Braun: 15 points (7/8 FG; 0/1 3PT; 1/1 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 19:02
Aaron Gordon: 11 points (5/10 FG; 0/0 3PT; 1/4 FT), 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 33:48
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: 6 points (1/4 FG; 0/3 3PT; 4/4 FT), 3 rebounds, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 28:05
Bruce Brown: 5 points (1/5 FG; 1/3 3PT; 2/2 FT), 2 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 28:36
Jeff Green: 4 points (2/2 FG; 0/0 3PT; 0/0 FT), 1 assist, 1 foul, 17:28
Michael Porter Jr.: 2 points (1/7 FG; 0/2 3PT; 0/0 FT), 7 rebounds, 1 foul, 21:19
Thomas Bryant: 0 points (0/0 FG; 0/0 FT), 0 fouls, 0:30
Vlatko Čančar: 0 points (0/0 FG; 0/0 FT), 0 fouls, 0:30
Zeke Nnaji: 0 points (0/0 FG; 0/0 FT), 0 fouls, 0:30
Peyton Watson: 0 points (0/0 FG; 0/0 FT), 0 fouls, 0:30
Reggie Jackson: 0 points (0/1 FG; 0/1 3PT; 0/0 FT), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1:23
Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler: 28 points (11/24 FG; 1/4 3PT; 5/6 FT), 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 40:21
Bam Adebayo: 22 opints (7/21 FG; 0/0 3PT; 8/10 FT), 17 reobunds, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 fouls, 40:52
Caleb Martin: 10 points (4/9 FG; 2/5 3PT; 0/0 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 31:30
Kyle Lowry: 9 points (4/8 FG; 1/4 3PT; 0/0 FT), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, 4 fouls, 29:30
Duncan Robinson: 9 points (3/6 FG; 3/6 3PT; 0/0 FT), 1 rebound, 2 fouls, 13:56
Gabe Vincent: 7 points (2/10 FG; 1/6 3PT; 2/3 FT), 2 steals, 3 fouls, 32:04
Kevin Love: 6 points (2/5 FG; 2/5 3PT; 0/0 FT), 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 16:00
Max Strus: 3 points (1/7 FG; 1/4 3PT; 0/0 FT), 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 foul, 24:12
Nikola Jović: 0 points (0/0 FG; 0/0 FT), 0 fouls, 1:30
Haywood Highsmith: 0 points (0/0 FG; 0/0 FT), 1 foul, 2:27
Ömer Yurtseven: 0 points (0/1 FG; 0/1 3PT; 0/0 FT), 1 rebound, 0 fouls, 1:10
Udonis Haslem: 0 points (0/1 FG; 0/0 3PT; 0/0 FT), 0 fouls, 0:30
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