The NBA Finals got off to roaring start on Thursday with the Denver Nuggets striking first with a 104-93 win against the Miami Heat. The Heat pulled to within single digits late in the fourth quarter, but the Nuggets lead was never in any danger. It will be up to the Heat now to see what adjustments they can make for Game 2. It was a record-setting night though for the Nuggets starting with the first half of the game. Nikola Jokic matched LeBron James as the only two players over the last 25 years in NBA Finals history to record at least ten points and ten assists in a single half of play. He followed that up by matching Jason Kidd as the only two players to record a triple-double in an NBA Finals debut as per NBA Communications.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokić has a triple-double in his first #NBAFinals game as the fourth quarter continues.
Before tonight, the only player to record a triple-double in his NBA Finals debut was Jason Kidd (2002). pic.twitter.com/Q2tjOxDVO8
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 2, 2023
Nikola Jokic finished Game 1 with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. In comparison, Jason Kidd finished Game 1 of the 2002 Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers with 23 points, ten rebounds and ten assists.
Jokic has been having one of the best playoff runs in NBA history. He was phenomenal through the Nuggets first three playoff series and his momentum carried over to Game 1. Coming into the game, Jokic had been averaging 29.9 points per game, 13.3 rebounds, a league-leading 10.3 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 53.8 percent shooting from the field, 47.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 78.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Jokic is now the very early frontrunner for Finals MVP at this point.
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