The rest of the league has a combined three. By the time his 40 minutes of work were done, Jokic had his ninth triple-double of the 2023 playoffs. Most importantly, he's going to make every one of his teammates better.'įacing different looks in the second half, Jokic settled in as a scorer, bullying and bamboozling opposing centers Bam Adebayo and Cody Zeller inside. If they're going to give him that kind of attention, well, he's just going to pick you apart, and now it's up to the other guys to step in and make shots. 'I learned a long time ago that the defense tells you what to do, and Nikola never tries to impose his will or force things that aren't there. 'That's the beauty of Nikola,' Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told reporters postgame. Jokic had a 10-point, 10-assist double-double by halftime, using only five shooting possessions to get there. With Miami's switching defense leading to early size mismatches for Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, combined with Murray's early scoring and the defensive attention largely on Jokic, the big man dissected the Heat with his passing in the first half. Jokic finished with 27 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds, a steal, and a block on 8-of-12 shooting in Denver's 104-93 win.

They did it again in a Game 1 victory over the Miami Heat. From the first playoff game they appeared in together four years ago, Denver's stars have consistently met the moment.

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