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MIAMI, June 8 (UPI) -- Denver Nuggets players rebounded relentlessly for virtually endless scoring chances and received historic efforts from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray for a Game 3 win over the Miami Heat and 2-1 NBA Finals lead Wednesday in Miami. Jokic paced the effort with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in the 107-94 victory at the Kaseya Center. Murray scored a game-high 34 points and logged 10 assists and 10 rebounds.
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"Everybody came into the game and wanted to bring intensity," Murray said at his postgame news conference. "Everybody was ready to play tonight."
Jokic and Murray became the first teammates in NBA history to log 30-point triple-doubles in the same game.
"If you are going to play your best basketball, I think this is the best time," Jokic said.
The Nuggets outpaced the Heat 60-34 in points in the paint and 14-7 in second-chance points. They held a 65-41 edge in rebounding.
"We lost a lot of 50-50, or ball in the air or on the floor battles throughout the game and at key moments," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
"When the moments could have been swing moments, they were coming up with those plays."
The Nuggets shot 51.2% from the floor, compared to the Heat's 37%.
"Guys understood Game 2 was not who we are," said Nuggets coach Mike Malone, who criticized his team's effort after their Game 2 loss. "It's not who we can be, especially at this stage of the season. And they responded like they always do.
"That's one thing I know about our group, when we don't play well, we own it. We find a way to be resilient and get back to playing Denver Nuggets basketball. That's what we did tonight."
Heat forward Jimmy Butler scored a team-high 28 points. Center Bam Adebayo totaled 22 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven game series will be Friday at the Kaseya Center.
The Heat scored the first five points of the game and held the lead until the Nuggets stole momentum. They used a 10-2 run to jump ahead 20-16 with 3:33 left in the frame. Heat players missed eight consecutive shots during that skid.
The Heat ended the quarter with a 6-2 run to tie the game 24-24 to start the second. Butler scored 10 points over the first 12 minutes. Jokic also logged 10 points for the Nuggets.
The Nuggets were 0 for 5 from 3-point range in the first quarter, but scored 20 points in the paint.
The Heat went on a 13-4 run early in the second to take a 37-33 edge, but the Nuggets punched back. They answered that run with eight unanswered points and outscored their foes 20-11 over the final 7:27 of the first half to take a 53-48 lead at the break. They never lost the lead again.
Murray scored 12 of his 20 first-half points in the second quarter. Jokic logged 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists through the first 24 minutes.
The Nuggets started the third quarter with six unanswered points and later used a 17-6 run to build a 19-point lead, their largest of the night to that point. They led 82-68 to start the fourth quarter. Butler and Jokic scored 12 points apiece in the third.
The Nuggets went on an 11-2 run early in the fourth to push their lead to 21 points with 8:28 remaining. They outscored the Heat 27-26 over the final 12 minutes.
Nuggets guard Christian Braun scored 15 points off the bench in the victory. Forward Aaron Gordon totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Game 4 will tip off at 8:30 p.m. EDT Friday in Miami. The series will move to Denver for Game 5 on Monday.
