Denver's superstars bludgeon Heat in embarrassing rebound rout

MIAMI — The white rally towels left on the seats at Kaseya Center for Heat fans read simply:

“Culture.’’

The word was bolded over a Heat logo — an ode to Pat Riley’s Heat which have won three titles and been to The Finals six times since 2006.

But Heat culture got blasted away by an unstoppable superstar tandem and the size of the Nuggets in Wednesday’s Game 3.

With Nikola Jokic’s triple-double dominance, Jamal Murray’s triple-double brilliance, Aaron Gordon’s inside bullishness and a whopping 58-33 board domination, Denver handily took back home-court advantage.

In taking a 2-1 Finals lead, the Nuggets wiped out Miami in the second half in a 109-94 Game 3 rout. The disappointed white-clad fans saw Jokic become the first player in NBA Finals history to post a 30-20-10 game. (Precisely, his line read: 32 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists.)

Heat fans also bore witness to two teammates posting a triple-double in the same game for the first time in league history as Murray recorded a 34-10-10.

You want more inglorious Heat history. The 58-33 rebounding margin was the largest in an NBA Final since 1972.

“They just pounded the glass," Miami center Kevin Love said. “We couldn’t get anything offensive-rebound-wise as well defensive rebounding. They kept balls alive, all over the place. That type of disparity, it's tough to win. I take it upon myself. It’s on all of us to get in there and not let them get second possessions."

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In the third quarter, when Denver broke up a tight game, Miami didn’t get a single second-chance point. Size sometimes matters. Miami point guard Gabe Vincent was often caught on a switch, having to defend the 6-11, 280-pound Serbian heavyweight.

“Every team we’ve played this playoff run has had — quote unquote — size on us," Vincent said in the locker room. “We’re not going to make that excuse now.”

As Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel emerged from the Heat locker-room area, the Denver-area native didn’t look so displeased, posing for photos with myriad fans.

When asked what he thought of Jokic’s performance, McDaniel, a former Nuggets fan, paused, smiled and said, “Really good."

How about really great.

Jokic was so comfortable killing the Heat with shots in the lane that he didn’t log his first 3-point basket until 4:33 left in the third and the Nuggets already with a double-digit lead.  The Nuggets outmuscled the Heat for a 60-34 bulge in points in the paint.

“They just pummeled us in the paint," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They didn't really have to shoot threes."

With just five offensive rebounds in the second half, it was one Heat shot and usually Jokic inhaling the rebound on his way to his 10th triple-double of these playoffs.

“The intention he plays with — he can score the ball when he wants, gets to his spots," Love said. “The game is never sped up for him. He knows exactly where his teammates are going to be and they love playing with him. Unbelievable touch as well."

In Game 2’s Heat upset in Denver, Miami held Jokic to just four assists as his quarterbacking against the zone wasn’t elite. But that lasted only one night.

“He’s one of the guys you’re not going to stop," Love said. “You hope to slow him down but Friday we need to make it tougher on him. He’s the game’s best — two-time MVP who could’ve easily won it this year."

The Heat were still in the contest by intermission at 53-48 despite shooting 39.1% by playing cleanly, committing one turnover. But Denver reeled off the first six points of the second half and it wasn’t a game after that.

The Nuggets put their stamp on the win with Gordon becoming a beast inside. On consecutive possessions, Gordon scored off a Jokic lob deep in the lane,  then on a tip-in — the fourth shot of the possession.

Add the sparkplug bench play of pugnacious rookie guard Christian Braun (16 points, 7-of-8 from the field) and the Nuggets look like their first NBA championship is coming next week. Eighty percent of teams who win the 1-1 game go on to the title.

“We’ve always responded to adversity since I’ve been here," Love said. “If we win the next game, it’s a three-game series.”

In attendance was French soccer star Paul Pogba, who waited outside the locker room for his buddy Jimmy Butler, who scored 10 points in the first quarter but just 18 the rest of the way.

It was a long wait for Pogba, as it was a long wait for Spoelstra to enter the interview room.

“I don't know — I can't answer that," Butler said when asked where the effort was. “Maybe we're at home (at 1-1), we think we did something. It just can't happen. It won't happen again."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets bludgeon Heat in embarrassing rebound rout