Jokic gets NBA finals debut off to winning start
Nikola Jokic got a triple-double in his NBA Finals debut, Jamal Murray scored 26 points and the Denver Nuggets had little trouble with the cold-shooting Miami Heat on the way to a 104-93 win in Game 1 on Thursday night. Jokic finished with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who waited 47 years to make the finals and didn’t disappoint. Aaron Gordon added 16 points and Michael Porter Jr. scored 14 for Denver, who trailed for all of 34 seconds and eventually led by as many as 24. Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, who shot just 41 percent for the game — 33 percent from 3-point range. Gabe Vincent scored 19, Haywood Highsmith had 18 and Jimmy Butler added 13 for the Heat. Game 2 is in Denver on Sunday night.