NBA Finals 2023: Nikola Jokic was in total control of Game 1 - ESPN

DENVER — Every once in a while, when things look good but feel a little bit off, Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone will turn around in the middle of a game and ask a team staffer how many shots Nikola Jokic has taken.

Like everyone on the Nuggets' staff, Malone has learned to trust Jokic to read the game, what the defense is giving him and when it's time for him to start attacking. But sometimes it's still hard to wait.

Take Game 1 of these NBA Finals, when Jokic took just one shot in the first quarter and three shots in the first half of Denver's 104-93 win against the Miami Heat on Thursday night at Ball Arena.

Jokic was still in complete command of the game with 10 assists in the first half as the Nuggets led by 17, but still — three shots from your two-time MVP in the first half of the first NBA Finals game in team history would test anyone's fortitude.

«I learned a long time ago, the defense tells you what to do, and Nikola never forces it,» Malone said after the game Thursday. «If they're going to give him that kind of attention… he's going to just pick you apart. Now it's up to the other guys to step in and make shots.»

In the first half, that was Jamal Murray (18 of his 26 points), Aaron Gordon (14 of his 16) and Michael Porter Jr. (10 of his 14).

«That's the craziest thing about Joker,» Porter told ESPN. «He can have such a big impact and shoot the ball three times. He doesn't care at all.… He's just always going to take what the defense gives him.»

This is the choice all teams must make when they play the Nuggets, and none of the options are all that appealing.

Either try to slow Jokic down by sending multiple defenders at him, playing zone or assigning a burly, athletic power forward to shadow him everywhere