The Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 108-95 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on Friday, extending their lead to 3-1 in the series.

Nikola Jokic scored a double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds plus four assists for the Nuggets. They were good numbers for anyone in the Finals, but not so conspicuous compared with Jokic's own average stats of 33.3 points, 14 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game previously in the series. He also played less than 38 minutes on Friday night, a big drop from 42 minutes per game in the last three competitions.

The Heat's quick and steadfast trapping of Jokic when he had the ball in the low post forced him to cut his field goal (FG) attempts. He landed on Max Strus when he competed for a rebound in the first quarter. Though it didn't keep Jokic from continuing to play on the court, it took him some time to unburden his mind and go on charging the paint. Jokic was also called two quick personal fouls in the fourth quarter and, as a result, had to sit on the bench for a while.

That was the most dangerous moment for the Nuggets on Friday night because Jokic is too integral to the team offensively. When he headed to the bench, his side led 86-76 with more than nine minutes left. The Heat scored five points quickly in the following two possessions, seeming ready to reverse the situation with an aggressive run.

Jamal Murray shut the Heat down with a 3-pointer, assisted by Aaron Gordon. Then Murray returned the favor by feeding him an easy layup before he continued to find Jeff Green and Bruce Brown for another two buckets. The following three minutes belonged to Brown who attacked efficiently from both inside and outside, dropping nine straight points for his side to extend their lead to completely safe 17 points (108-91) with less than 90 seconds left.

The Nuggets wouldn't have sealed the game in such an outstanding way without the solid defensive performance. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stopped Jimmy Butler from dominating the floor with one block, one steal and multiple shooting deflections. His side had three steals and three blocks in the fourth quarter alone, limiting the Heat to 36.8 percent from the field in this period.

Gordon made no smaller offensive contributions than Jokic in Friday's game, not only with career-high 27 points in the playoffs, but also with six assists. Seven of the 11 shots he made were next to the hoop as he kept cutting deep into the paint and wasted no chance in attacking small defenders in mismatch. He also drained three triples and one tough jumper. When Jokic was sitting on the bench, Gordon copied his passing skill in the high post.

Murray struggled to make only five of his 17 FGs in Friday's game, but he delivered 12 assists, reaching double digits on this front in every of the four games in the Finals. When the Heat feared his scoring ability so much that they had to regularly double-team him from deep, Murray found another way to punish the opponents' defense by connecting with his teammates for open buckets.

Butler turned on his scoring mode early on Friday night, but the Nuggets, with their rich defensive resources, again made him sweat to get every of his 25 points. He only took eight shots in the second half and missed five of them. Bam Adebayo made most of his eight FGs via fast break and off-ball cut ins. When he had to attack off the dribble facing ready Nuggets' defenders during half-court offense, Adebayo didn't have much clue how to do the job.

Two veterans, Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love, combined to score 24 points for the Heat in Friday's game. They were joined by Duncan Robinson who continued to provide steady 3-point shooting and smart cut ins. However, despite their surprisingly good performances, they were too little compared with the Nuggets' offensive depth.

Game 5 of the series will take place at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on June 12.