2023-06-08 09:48:30
The place to be! The Kaseya Center, the new name for the home of the Miami Heat, was the place to be on Wednesday. Even if Lionel Messi, who announced his arrival at Inter Miami, was not present, the Florida room hosted an impressive audience of stars for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
From footballers Neymar and Paul Pogba to singer Shakira via actor Chris Tucker, Magic Johnson, Dwyane Wade and even Future, the cream of the world of sport and entertainment were present to watch the duel at the top between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets. Even if many were present to support Miami, finally beaten (94-109) they were not disappointed with the show. They were the privileged witnesses of a historic performance, that of Nikola Jokic.
As since the beginning of this series, the Serbian genius has been the strong man of the Nuggets will have been Jokic. Author of 32 points (12 of 21 on shots), 21 rebounds and 10 assists, the double NBA MVP (2021, 2022) achieved a historic performance. He is the first player to achieve a triple-double (more than 10 points in statistical categories) at least 30/20/10 in a final match.
“To be honest, it doesn’t do much for me,” commented the interested party after the fact, about this performance. “I’m just happy that we won a game. It was important for us just because they won at home and we just didn’t want to be down 2-1. »
This “triple-double” is also his tenth in these play-offs, a new record that he seems to be able to improve game after game, now with three more than the legend Wilt Chamberlain.
In fact, the “Joker” embodied the obvious superiority of his team inside, using his size advantage to score enormously in the paint of the Heat. The Nuggets put up 60 points there (from 34), more than half of their total.
The Serbian giant was not alone, since his attacking partner Jamal Murray was the most prolific of all, with 34 points while also being altruistic (10 assists). As for the young Christian Braun, he did not fail to distinguish himself with 15 points (7/8) off the bench, illustrating the resources of Denver in attack.
On the Miami side, Jimmy Butler, Neymar’s friend, tried to maintain the suspense with his 28 points. At his side, Bam Adebayo was again generous (22 points, 17 rebounds), resisting as he could against the steamroller Jokic. But their performances will not have been enough.
Thanks to this success regains the advantage in the series (2 wins to 1) before game 4 to be held Friday, still in Florida. “We were just more focused. In the end, we made very few mistakes and our communication was top notch, that’s why we won the match,” reacted Jokic.
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