The Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 109-94 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.

For the first time in league history, a player dropped 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in a Finals game, and his name is Nikola Jokic. It's his 10th triple-double in this year's playoffs and the third time he has gotten at least 30+20+10 in the postseason in his career. Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, two of the greatest centers of all time, each did it once before.

Wednesday night was also the first time in NBA Finals history for two players from one team to both get triple-doubles in one game. Jamal Murray scored 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Nuggets. Having underperformed in Game 2 that his side lost, Murray heated up quickly in Game 3, shooting 8-for-13 from the field in the first half to get 20 points.

By making three tough 3-pointers in the second quarter, Murray forced the Heat to invest more defensive attention in him. From the third period, Jimmy Butler, who marked Murray, and Bam Adebayo, who guarded Jokic, often double-teamed Murray when Jokic set a screen for him on the top of the key. As a result, Murray went 4-for-9 in field goals (FGs), shot only one triple and missed in the second half. However, such a defensive policy set Jokic free.

Jokic had 12 points in the third quarter and led his teammates to keep attacking the Heat in the interior. Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon combined to make six shots under the hoop. Braun didn't deliver any assists in this period, but his combination of dribble penetration and kick passes was integral to the Nuggets' ball movement that set up many open shots.

Coach Michael Malone made effective changes for the Nuggets on the defensive end as well. The team closed out more quickly in guarding screen plays in Wednesday's game, taking away 3-point shooting from the Heat's offense from the beginning of the competition. The Nuggets switched more defensively from the third quarter. Though Butler made good use of the chances to attack in mismatch and scored 12 points, the rest of the team missed 11 of their 14 attempts in this period, getting only eight points.

The Heat's winning formula in this year's playoffs has been based on sharp 3-point shooting and disciplined, smart defensive rotations. The Nuggets cut the former away with better defensive communications; the Heat gave up the latter because they were unable to contain the attacks of three ball handlers, Jokic, Murray and Braun.

Nonetheless, dig deeper, and you will find that the Nuggets' advantage and the Heat's disadvantage both originate from their differences in talents. The Heat had no one who could stop Jokic when he had the ball below the free throw line. Murray's ability to make tough shots forced Adebayo to close out to mark him on many possessions, thus leaving the paint vulnerable. The Nuggets led in points in the paint (60-34) and total rebounds (58-33).

By contrast, every one of the Nuggets' eight-player rotations on Wednesday was able to at least slow Butler down and keep him from charging the rim easily without extra help from teammates. They made Butler work hard for every point without leaving him much room to pass to teammates for easy buckets.

As for Adebayo, it took him 21 FGs to get 22 points. Half of his 14 missed shots were taken under the hoop. The Nuggets were willing to allow him catch-and-shoot jumpers, and he only made four of them. The 10 free throws and six offensive rebounds he got were impressive, but they were not significant enough to make a difference for the team.

Game 4 of the series will take place at the Kaseya Center on Friday.