The Joker is clearly not, well … joking around.
Nikola Jokic scored 27 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed off 14 assists for his 15th triple double of the 2023 playoffs as the Nuggets celebrated their first appearance in an NBA Finals with a 104-93 blowout of the Heat in Game 1 Thursday night. If you weren’t able to get a bet in on time for Game 1, you’ll get another chance in Game 2 on Sunday night. But before you place your wagers, make sure you take advantage of the best NBA Finals betting promos & bonuses on the market to score thousands of dollars of bonus bets and first-bet insurance welcome offers.
With a nine-game layoff between its sweep-finishing victory over the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals and Game 1 of the NBA Finals, there was concern Denver would be rusty in the opener, but the Nuggets were machine-like, leading by as many as 24 points and trailing for just over 30 seconds in the entire game. The Nuggets led by nine after the first quarter and were up by 17 at the half.
Instead, it was Miami that looked out of sorts, shooting just 41% from the field and setting an NBA playoff record by going to the free-throw line just twice. Jimmy Butler, who keyed Miami’s upset victories over the Bucks, Knicks and Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoffs, was held to just 13 points.