Selfless Nikola Jokic says ‘I don’t need to score’ to impact Denver Nuggets game as his stunning triple-double led his team to Game 1 victory over Miami Heat in the nba final
- Jokic had recorded a double-double before the end of the first half of the game
- He finished the game with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in the victory
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
NBA MVP contender Nikola Jokic put on a stunning display in Game 1 of the NBA Finals after recording a triple-double that included a first-half double-double.
Jokic recorded 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists and finished the first half with 10 points and 10 assists.
Six of his first-half assists in the first quarter as Denver took an early lead.
“At the moment the most important thing is to win a game and try to win a game in every possible way,” Jokic said immediately after the game in an interview.
“I don’t need to shoot and I don’t need to score to ‘hit’ (affect) the game and I think I did a good job today.”
The Nuggets big man also praised his Miami despite having just beaten them by double digits and controlled the game from start to finish.
Nikola Jokic grabbed a triple-double, collecting 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists
“They fight, they never give up and we just wanted to get the first punch. The first three rounds, they won game one and they traveled and played on the road and we didn’t want that to happen. I think we did a good job to keep this team at 93 points, it’s a very good job,” Jokic said.
Denver head coach Mike Malone made similar statements about not allowing the Heat to win the Nuggets’ home opener.
Aaron Gordon added 16 points and Michael Porter Jr. scored 14 for Denver, which trailed for 34 seconds and eventually led to 24.
Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, which shot 41% for the game — 33% from 3-point range. Gabe Vincent scored 19 goals, Haywood Highsmith scored 18 and Jimmy Butler added 13 for the Heat.
Game 2 takes place in Denver on Sunday night.
Miami opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 streak, closing an 84-63 deficit to start the final period at 84-74. The Heat actually came within nine on a 3-pointer from Highsmith with 2:34 to go, but no closer and there was no doubt either.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone gave his team a pop quiz Thursday morning, overwhelming them with questions about the game plan and what to do in the most important game to date in history of the franchise.
They had all the answers then. Had them all at game time too. This was the team with minimal NBA Finals experience, with only two players having made the title round before, and yet they looked comfortable in front of the home crowd in Game 1.
