Denver Nuggets stars Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray proved in Game 3 that they have the best two-man game currently in the NBA, powering the Nuggets to a 2-1 NBA Finals lead over the Miami Heat and resetting home-court advantage in the series. Jokić put up another historic stat line, and we haven’t even talked about how good he is from beyond the 3-point arc. Murray suffered a floor burn on his left hand, but should be good to go for Game 4.
The Nuggets also got a standout performance in Game 3 from “rare rookie” Christian Braun. Braun’s stellar play mitigated an off-shooting night from Michael Porter Jr. The Nuggets will need another standout performance from a third player in order to take a commanding 3-1 series lead back to Denver for Monday’s Game 5.
On the other side, the Heat lost the physical battle and were out-rebounded considerably in Game 3. Jimmy Butler still hasn’t had a dominant game in the Finals, and Miami needs him to step up if they are to tie the series. They likely won’t get Tyler Herro back anytime soon for a boost to the offense, as he is still ramping up from a broken hand he suffered earlier in the postseason. Miami needs its struggling shooters to step up in Game 4.
Follow Yahoo Sports for live updates from Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
What: NBA Finals, Game 4 (Nuggets lead, 2-1)
Who: Denver Nuggets at Miami Heat
When: 8:30 p.m. ET Friday
Where: Kaseya Center, Miami
TV: ABC
Schedule:
Game 5: At Denver, 8:30 p.m. ET Monday (ABC)
*Game 6: At Miami, 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday (ABC)
*Game 7: At Denver, 8 p.m. ET June 18 (ABC)
* – if necessary