MIAMI – Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone has viewed a lot of top-notch performances from their star tandem of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

So he did not have any trouble assessing their efforts in Game 3 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals on Wednesday night in Miami.

“By far their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together,” he said.

Jokic produced a historic stat line of 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, and Murray also had a triple-double as Denver notched a 109-94 victory over the Miami Heat for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Jokic became the first player to log at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in an NBA Finals game. He made 12 of 21 shots and blocked two shots as Denver bounced back from a Game 2 home loss.

Murray scored a game-high 34 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. And as Malone pointed out, it is the first time two players on the same team have scored 30-point triple-doubles in NBA history.

“Regarding Nikola, nothing he does surprises me, ever,” Malone added. “The guy has shown over and over again that he’s built for these moments. He thrives on these moments, the biggest stage, and he did that again tonight.

“Jamal is a guy that thrives, lives and excels in the moment. Never afraid of it and you can’t say that for a lot of players.

“He missed our last two post-seasons (with a knee injury). He’s been dying to get back to this setting and just go out there and put on the performance that he’s putting on.”

Miami have their own star duo as well but their performances were not enough. Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and Bam Adebayo added 22 points and 17 rebounds for the Heat, who trailed by as many as 21 points.

“We didn’t play our best tonight,” Butler said. “We got to come out with more energy and effort.”

Game 4 is on Friday night in Miami, with the Nuggets two victories away from their first NBA title.

Jokic, as is his custom, downplayed his memorable performance.

“I’m just glad we won the game,” the two-time league Most Valuable Player said.

“It was a big one for us just because they won in our arena. We just didn’t want to go down 2-1.”

Denver shot 51.2 per cent from the field but were just five of 18 (27.8 per cent) from three-point range. They had a 58-33 rebounding advantage and a 60-34 edge in points in the paint.

“They just pummelled us in the paint,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They didn’t even have to shoot threes... we didn’t offer much resistance.”

Miami made 37 per cent of their field-goal attempts and were 11 of 35 (31.4 per cent) from behind the arc.

After leading by five at half-time, the Nuggets scored the first six points of the second half on a Jokic hoop and back-to-back baskets by Aaron Gordon to take a 59-48 lead.

Miami were later within seven before Denver began pulling away with a 21-9 surge.

The Heat scored the final five points to trail 82-68 entering the final stanza, and Adebayo sank two free throws to cut the deficit to 12 in the opening minute of the final quarter.

However, Murray hit a jumper and Jokic followed with the next four points to start an 11-2 run.

Murray’s jumper then made it 101-84 with three minutes left. The Heat narrowed the gap to nine before the Nuggets closed it out.

Spoelstra added that he knows he has some work to do on the offensive side.

“They jammed us up in possessions. Then sometimes we’re forced with those plays, and that can kind of have a different flow and feel to it than if it’s just in our typical rhythm of our offence,” he said. REUTERS, AFP