"I think it's the first time in Finals history, or maybe NBA history, that two guys have 30-10 triple-doubles, so that's incredible right there," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of his star duo's feat.
They're the first teammates to post triple-doubles in the same Finals game, and the first teammates to each post 30-point triple-doubles in the same game -- regular season or playoffs.
Malone called it incredible, but he wasn't surprised.
"Regarding Nikola, nothing he does surprises me, ever," Malone said of the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player from Serbia.
"He makes it look so easy," added Murray of Jokic. "Just free throws, his touch, his creativity, his no-look passes, his IQ. I could go down the line. He's a special, special player."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra noted the synergy between Jokic and Murray, which Murray said was born of trust.
"I'd say it's a trust and a feel, that's the best way for me to put it," he said. "It's not really X's and O's. It's just reading the game and trusting that the other is going to make the right play.
"If he throws it to me, he knows and expects what to see from me, and he knows the mood I'm in, the intensity I'm playing with, whether it's low or high, time and score, and vice versa.
"I know when he's overpassing, I know when he's looking to score, I know when he's the best player on the floor, I know when he's taking a second to get into the game.
"I think it's just a feel and a trust that we're going to figure it out, and it's a lot of unselfishness, like I keep bringing that up. It's free-flowing."
Jokic said it boiled down to the respect that has developed between the two over the course of seven years.
"He's playing phenomenal, I think, the whole playoff," Jokic said of Murray. "His energy is amazing, and we are just following."
But Jokic said the Nuggets are more than a two-man band -- and must be if they want to lift the first NBA title in franchise history.
"It's not just us," he said. "Like I said even before the series started, Denver Nuggets need to beat Miami, not me and Jamal and whoever is on the other side. We as a group need to beat them."
With that in mind, Jokic wasn't disposed to dwell on his historic stat line or ponder whether he agreed with Malone that Wednesday's game was his and Murray's "greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together."
"I don't know. We're just trying to win a game right now," Jokic said. "We can think about that later."
LITTLE RESISTANCE
Spoelstra admitted his team had been "pummeled" in the paint and had failed to respond to the challenge. The Nuggets out-scored the Heat 60-34 in the paint and also won the rebound battle 58-33 meaning that Denver's miserly five of 18 three-point shooting didn't matter.
"They just pummeled us in the paint," Spoelstra said. "They didn't really have to shoot threes. They had, whatever, 60 in the paint. There wasn't a need to space the floor.
"We didn't offer much resistance...I thought offensively, we actually did get a lot of opportunities in the paint.
"You do have to credit their size and everything like that, but we have proven that we can finish in the paint when we're at our best," he added.
However, Spoelstra knows he has some work to do on the offensive side.
"Definitely some things where we got flattened out, and they jammed us up in possessions, got us late into possessions. Then sometimes we're forced with those plays, and that can kind of have a different flow and feel to it than if it's just in our typical rhythm of our offence," he said.
But Jimmy Butler, who top scored for the Heat with 28 points, said the key change needs to come from the players not the playbook.
"We didn't play our best tonight. I feel like we just got to come out with more energy and effort, and that's correctible. That's on us as a group. No X's and O's can fix that.
"So come out, dive on the floor, get loose balls, get defensive rebounds and maybe, just maybe, it would have been a different game," he said.
Kyle Lowry said Miami head failed to heed Spoelstra's pre-game warning of what to expect from the Nuggets.
"Coach, he knew how they were going to come out aggressive, and we just didn't -- we didn't match the force...we didn't play with the force we needed to play with," he said.
"I think that was their objective, to get in the paint, get inside and use their size and physicality. And that's what they did," he added.
Despite Jokic and Murray's record-breaking night, Caleb Martin said Miami have to be self-critical.
"They are two great players. They obviously had triple-doubles and they can get it done, whether that's passing, playmaking, shotmaking, whatever it is. They are one of the best duos in the league.
"But I don't think that we did enough, as much as we are capable of doing, and making it tough on those guys, kind of like we did in game two. Just find ways in adjusting to the fact they are getting to their spots," he added.
"We just have to have a better approach mentally," Martin said. "Whenever their shots are falling, we can't let that trickle into our offence. Make sure we stay with it and put more pressure on those guys."
