After Historic Performance, Nikola Jokić Praised One of Denver’s Bench Players For Winning Game 3
The Nuggets downed the Heat in Miami 109–94 in Game 3 on Wednesday night in Miami thanks to triple-doubles from stars Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray.
Jokić and Murray became the first duo in playoff history to record 30-point triple-doubles. The work of Jokić was particularly historic, as he recorded the first 30-20-10 stat line in NBA Finals history. He finished with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists.
Even after the monumental performance, Jokić refused to take too much credit. Instead, he heaped praise on rookie Christian Braun, who Jokić said won Denver the game.
“I told him ‘You won us the game,’” Jokić said. “Like you said, he’s a winner and he won us the game with the energy, just the focus, the mindset. Even when he makes a mistake he makes an aggressive mistake so you can’t be mad at him, I always say that. So he won us the game and he was really good tonight.”
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After being out of the playoff rotation, Braun was reinserted into the lineup off the bench and delivered with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. The rookie out of Kansas has impressed the Nuggets roster and staff with his mature play all season.
One year removed from helping the Jayhawks win a national title, he is now contributing in an NBA Finals, hoping to help deliver the Nuggets a championship of their own.
