Nikola Jokic Makes History in Game 1 vs. Heat

It has been a historic playoff run for Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic, who continues to make history on a nightly basis. In the first half of Thursday night's Game 1 matchup with the Miami Heat, Jokic made history by joining LeBron James as the only other player in the last 25 years with at least 10 points and 10 assists in any half of an NBA Finals game.

Nikola Jokic joins LeBron James as the only players in the last 25 years with 10 points & 10 assists in any half of an NBA Finals game.

James did it in his 42nd Finals game.

Jokic did it in his 1st. pic.twitter.com/VZKy7uFQps
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 2, 2023

As ESPN noted, it took James until his 42nd career NBA Finals game to accomplish the feat, while Jokic did it in his first. It has been that kind of run for Jokic this postseason, who finished the Game 1 victory with 27 PTS, 14 AST, and 10 REB on an efficient 8/12 from the field.

With the triple-double in his NBA Finals debut, Jokic joined Jason Kidd as the only other player in NBA history with a triple-double in their Finals debut. As previously mentioned, this is the level Jokic has been at all postseason long, with the historical numbers getting more exclusive as the run has continued.

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

More importantly than the individual dominance for Jokic in this opening game of the Finals, was Denver picking up the win. This is all Jokic and his teammates care about, as they are now three away from being crowned NBA champions for the first time.

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