All eyes were on the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets during their NBA Finals debut. With a new face in the fight for the Larry O'Brien Trophy comes a young gun with things to prove. Despite never being an All-Star, Jamal Murray showed why he is an elite playoff performer against Jimmy Butler's Miami Heat. He now joins Russell Westbrook in the annals of NBA History because of his performance in Game 1.
Murray is now the second-youngest player to post 25 points and 10 assists in an NBA Finals game over the last 30 years, per The Athletic. The only player younger than him also faced a Heat roster with Udonis Haslem. Russell Westbrook achieved the feat in 2012 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Murray and Westbrook share the same luck as both of their teams won Game 1 of the series. Murray and the Nuggets may want to deviate from the similar history there as the Thunder eventually lost the series to Miami.
The Nuggets got most of their offensive load with the Murray-Jokic two-man game as both stars put on a show. Jamal Murray posted 26 points while knocking down 50% of his shots from the field. He was cold from beyond the arc, only scoring two out of his seven attempts, but made up for it by facilitating the offense with 10 assists.
Nikola Jokic also had an amazing game. The big man finished with a highly efficient 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists on 8-of-12 field goal shooting. The duo seems unstoppable on offense, which is already causing problems for Butler's Heat.
The Mile High City is now just three wins away from raising its first banner in NBA franchise history.
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