The Denver Nuggets took back control of the NBA Finals series against the Heat in an impressive fashion. The Nuggets dominated the Heat in a 109-94 win in Game 3, with their star duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray making history in the process.

Jokic and Murray both had 30-point triple-doubles, becoming the first duo to achieve the feat in the NBA playoffs. Jokic had 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Murray finished the game with 34 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds to give Denver a 2-1 lead.

Nuggets’ head coach Mike Malone was full of praise for Jokic and Murray in the post-game conference.

“By far, their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together,” Malone said.

Malone was particularly impressed with Murray, who struggled in Game 2 and missed the game-tying basket at the buzzer.

“I felt Jamal’s presence, his energy, and he was here in the moment,” Malone added. “For him and Nikola to do what they did tonight in a game that we needed to take, regain the home-court advantage of the series, was special to watch.”

Jokic and Murray will now look to do it all over again in Game 4, knowing how important it is to keep the momentum and don’t let the resilient Heat team get their grove back. The series stays in Miami, with the next game scheduled for Friday night.

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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was forced off the court late in the second quarter of his team’s 110-122 loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. It was later determined that Jokic had suffered a knee contusion after bumping into Jazz center Rudy Gobert.

In an attempt to drive on Jokic, collided with the reigning NBA MVP. After the two players’ knees banged together, Jokic went down immediately, clutching at his right knee. He left the court almost immediately after the incident.

While the rest of the team expressed much concern at the time of the incident, Jokic remained convinced that the knee injury was not serious. Despite this belief, Denver coach Michael Malone decided it best to bring the player off in order to avoid the risk of further aggravating the injury.

“What I have learned about Nikola is, if you leave it up to Nikola, he is going to play every game,” Malone explained. “So sometimes I have to make decisions for him, and it makes no sense for me when he told me it feels a little weak for him to play in the second half.”

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Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton stated that his team will have no choice but to “win by committee” as Jamal Murray’s date of return to action remains unclear.

The star point guard of the Nuggets, Murray tore his ACL last April; an injury that heavily crippled the Nuggets’ lineup and saw them crash out of the 2020-21 NBA Playoff conference semifinals, losing their series against the Phoenix Suns 4-0.

“I remember the next day speaking to our team and that was kind of the point I made at that time”, coach Michael Malone recalled of the day after Murray got injured. “No, there is not another Jamal Murray on this team and I don’t want anybody trying to be Jamal. No, we were going to make up for his loss as a committee, as long as everybody brought the best version of themselves.”

The Nuggets were able to achieve minimal success following Murray’s injury, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. This was followed by their swift defeat by Phoenix.

The Nuggets will kick off their regular season with an opening game against Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

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En route to last year’s NBA Finals, the Miami Heat embarrassed the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and handed them a gentlemen’s sweep in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. This year, however, the Bucks are proving themselves to be a much tougher opponent.

The 2020-21 playoffs matched up the Heat and the Bucks once again, this time in the first round, and things aren’t going well for Miami so far. After getting edged out in Game 1 in overtime, the Heat also suffered a 98-132 blowout on Monday night.

The Bucks were dominant straight from the bat, pouring in 46 points in the first quarter alone, and were already 26 points ahead when the second period started. From that point on, Milwaukee kept adding to their lead while disrupting Miami’s comeback attempts with some excellent defense.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was the best player on the court, scoring 31 points and grabbing 13 boards in just 31 minutes. Jrue Holiday dished 15 assists, while the Bucks also got great production from Bryn Forbes, who scored 22 off the bench.

The Heat, on the other hand, struggled to put points on the board the whole night. They didn’t have any player with more than 19 points, while their All-Star forward Jimmy Butler finished with just 10 points, four assists, and two rebounds.

The Heat will have a chance to respond on Thursday when the series travels to Miami.

The Western Conference part of the playoffs also saw a blowout. The Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-109 and tied the series 1-1 thanks to a monster night from their All-Star center Nikola Jokic.

Jokic also played 31 minutes but managed to do even more damage. He finished the night with 38 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Michael Porter Jr. and Paul Millsap added 18 points, respectively.

Damian Lillard tried to keep the Blazers in the game as much as possible, but even his 42 points and 10 assists were not enough to make it close. The two teams will meet again on Thursday in Portland.

The post Bucks Get 2-0 Lead vs. Miami, Nuggets Tie Series Against Blazers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Denver Nuggets didn’t let the heartbreaking loss in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals get to them. Instead, they bounced back on Tuesday night with a dominant performance in a 106-114 win over Los Angeles Lakers in crucial Game 3.

Nuggets took control of the game from the very start, finishing the first quarter with a 27-29 lead. Denver then kept building the lead in the next two quarters, amassing a 20-point cushion entering the final period. But it turned out Lakers were not going to let them get an easy win.

Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter and came close to staging an impressive comeback by almost completely erasing Nuggets’ lead with five minutes left in the contest. However, Denver held their ground, and thanks to crucial points by Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, managed to weather the storm.

“Everybody always has us packing our bags and leaving, but we’re not ready to go,” said Denver’s head coach Michael Malone. “For some reason, we love this bubble.”

Murray finished the game with 28 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists while Jokic had 26 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Jerami Grant added 26 points.

“Maybe they can beat us by 20, 30, they can beat us by a last shot, but we just cannot quit,” said Jokic after the game. “Effort needs to be there.”

Lakers, on the other hand, were led by LeBron James, who had a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Anthony Davis followed with 27 points.

The post Nuggets Get a Hard-Fought 106-114 win Over Lakers in Game 3 of West Finals appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Denver Nuggets took back control of the NBA Finals series against the Heat in an impressive fashion. The Nuggets dominated the Heat in a 109-94 win in Game 3, with their star duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray making history in the process.

Jokic and Murray both had 30-point triple-doubles, becoming the first duo to achieve the feat in the NBA playoffs. Jokic had 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Murray finished the game with 34 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds to give Denver a 2-1 lead.

Nuggets’ head coach Mike Malone was full of praise for Jokic and Murray in the post-game conference.

“By far, their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together,” Malone said.

Malone was particularly impressed with Murray, who struggled in Game 2 and missed the game-tying basket at the buzzer.

“I felt Jamal’s presence, his energy, and he was here in the moment,” Malone added. “For him and Nikola to do what they did tonight in a game that we needed to take, regain the home-court advantage of the series, was special to watch.”

Jokic and Murray will now look to do it all over again in Game 4, knowing how important it is to keep the momentum and don’t let the resilient Heat team get their grove back. The series stays in Miami, with the next game scheduled for Friday night.

The post Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray Make NBA Playoff History in 109-94 Win Over Heat appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was forced off the court late in the second quarter of his team’s 110-122 loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. It was later determined that Jokic had suffered a knee contusion after bumping into Jazz center Rudy Gobert.

In an attempt to drive on Jokic, collided with the reigning NBA MVP. After the two players’ knees banged together, Jokic went down immediately, clutching at his right knee. He left the court almost immediately after the incident.

While the rest of the team expressed much concern at the time of the incident, Jokic remained convinced that the knee injury was not serious. Despite this belief, Denver coach Michael Malone decided it best to bring the player off in order to avoid the risk of further aggravating the injury.

“What I have learned about Nikola is, if you leave it up to Nikola, he is going to play every game,” Malone explained. “So sometimes I have to make decisions for him, and it makes no sense for me when he told me it feels a little weak for him to play in the second half.”

The post Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic Forced Off Court Due To Injury appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton stated that his team will have no choice but to “win by committee” as Jamal Murray’s date of return to action remains unclear.

The star point guard of the Nuggets, Murray tore his ACL last April; an injury that heavily crippled the Nuggets’ lineup and saw them crash out of the 2020-21 NBA Playoff conference semifinals, losing their series against the Phoenix Suns 4-0.

“I remember the next day speaking to our team and that was kind of the point I made at that time”, coach Michael Malone recalled of the day after Murray got injured. “No, there is not another Jamal Murray on this team and I don’t want anybody trying to be Jamal. No, we were going to make up for his loss as a committee, as long as everybody brought the best version of themselves.”

The Nuggets were able to achieve minimal success following Murray’s injury, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. This was followed by their swift defeat by Phoenix.

The Nuggets will kick off their regular season with an opening game against Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

The post No Timeline For Jamal Murray’s Return, Nuggets Confirm appeared first on SportzBonanza.

En route to last year’s NBA Finals, the Miami Heat embarrassed the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and handed them a gentlemen’s sweep in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. This year, however, the Bucks are proving themselves to be a much tougher opponent.

The 2020-21 playoffs matched up the Heat and the Bucks once again, this time in the first round, and things aren’t going well for Miami so far. After getting edged out in Game 1 in overtime, the Heat also suffered a 98-132 blowout on Monday night.

The Bucks were dominant straight from the bat, pouring in 46 points in the first quarter alone, and were already 26 points ahead when the second period started. From that point on, Milwaukee kept adding to their lead while disrupting Miami’s comeback attempts with some excellent defense.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was the best player on the court, scoring 31 points and grabbing 13 boards in just 31 minutes. Jrue Holiday dished 15 assists, while the Bucks also got great production from Bryn Forbes, who scored 22 off the bench.

The Heat, on the other hand, struggled to put points on the board the whole night. They didn’t have any player with more than 19 points, while their All-Star forward Jimmy Butler finished with just 10 points, four assists, and two rebounds.

The Heat will have a chance to respond on Thursday when the series travels to Miami.

The Western Conference part of the playoffs also saw a blowout. The Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-109 and tied the series 1-1 thanks to a monster night from their All-Star center Nikola Jokic.

Jokic also played 31 minutes but managed to do even more damage. He finished the night with 38 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Michael Porter Jr. and Paul Millsap added 18 points, respectively.

Damian Lillard tried to keep the Blazers in the game as much as possible, but even his 42 points and 10 assists were not enough to make it close. The two teams will meet again on Thursday in Portland.

The post Bucks Get 2-0 Lead vs. Miami, Nuggets Tie Series Against Blazers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Denver Nuggets didn’t let the heartbreaking loss in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals get to them. Instead, they bounced back on Tuesday night with a dominant performance in a 106-114 win over Los Angeles Lakers in crucial Game 3.

Nuggets took control of the game from the very start, finishing the first quarter with a 27-29 lead. Denver then kept building the lead in the next two quarters, amassing a 20-point cushion entering the final period. But it turned out Lakers were not going to let them get an easy win.

Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter and came close to staging an impressive comeback by almost completely erasing Nuggets’ lead with five minutes left in the contest. However, Denver held their ground, and thanks to crucial points by Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, managed to weather the storm.

“Everybody always has us packing our bags and leaving, but we’re not ready to go,” said Denver’s head coach Michael Malone. “For some reason, we love this bubble.”

Murray finished the game with 28 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists while Jokic had 26 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Jerami Grant added 26 points.

“Maybe they can beat us by 20, 30, they can beat us by a last shot, but we just cannot quit,” said Jokic after the game. “Effort needs to be there.”

Lakers, on the other hand, were led by LeBron James, who had a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Anthony Davis followed with 27 points.

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