With Nikola Jokic on the bench with five fouls, the Nuggets turned what could have been a grim fourth-quarter stretch into one that put the franchise one win away from its first NBA title in Friday’s Game 4.
MIAMI — When Nikola Jokic was forced out of the game with his fifth foul with over nine minutes remaining in Game 4, the Denver Nuggets were staring at the most pivotal stretch they would ever play without their two-time MVP.
Head coach Michael Malone described the typical non-Jokic minutes for the Nuggets as „a crapshoot,“ putting his hands over his face and pretending to peek through his fingers to describe how precarious those moments have been this season.
But on Friday, the Nuggets turned what could have been the longest five-plus minutes of their season into one that put the franchise a victory away from its first NBA championship.
With Jokic watching for a five-minute, 15-second stretch, Jamal Murray orchestrated the Nuggets‘ offense. He stymied any double teams that came his way, setting up teammates for key baskets as the Nuggets fended off every Miami Heat challenge to win 108-95, taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
Murray has drawn so much attention for his scoring in the postseason. But on Friday, he scored just 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting but had 12 assists with no turnovers.
„This is four rounds now — Minnesota, Phoenix, [the Lakers], and now Miami — where our bench overall has done a really nice job. You know all season long, it was like oh, the non-Nikola minutes, kind of a crapshoot. You’re watching the game like this sometimes,“ Malone said, shielding his eyes with his hands.
