Game 7 showed Nikola Jokic remains in the Denver Nuggets’ driver’s seat

As incredible as his co-star Jamal Murray was in closing a 3-1 deficit, the Denver Nuggets’ Game 7 victory was a reminder of the control Nikola Jokic still possesses.

Games 1-6 of the Denver Nuggets first-round matchup with the Utah Jazz belonged not to Nikola Jokic, but to Jamal Murray. How could they not?

He scored 10 points in each of the fourth quarter and overtime to upset Donovan Mitchell’s 57 points in Game 1, finishing with 36. He put forth one of the most explosive three-games stretches in NBA history: 47.3 nightly points on a line of .642/.629/.889 to nearly single-handedly erase Denver’s 3-1 series deficit.

A Game 7 was the logical conclusion amid Murray’s battle with Mitchell, a duel between two young guards who now hold the record for the most combined points by two individuals in a playoff series in NBA history.

Murray’s budding spotlight made Nikola Jokic somewhat of an afterthought, but the All-Star big man hardly played second fiddle. He averaged 25.7 points surpassing a 50/45/80 shooting line with 7.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

He was unbothered by the presence of a two-time Defensive Player of the Year in a matchup that was supposed to take center stage. At this point, nothing could take away from the final chapter of a truly epic one-on-one duel between two Mitchell and Murray.

What we got in Game 7 was less than what we had grown accustomed to in the previous six games. Mitchell finished with 22 but dazzled with a 13-point third quarter to cut a 14-point halftime lead to five. The same explosion could not be attributed to Murray, who scored no more than six points in any quarter (first) on his way to 17 points.

This is the same player whose 4-of-18 performance swung Game 7 of last year’s conference-semis into the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers. On his way to finishing 7-of-21, the past appeared to be repeating itself, souring an incredible individual run and a valiant series comeback by the Nuggets.

With 17 second-half points, Jokic emerged to pick up the slack Murray had previously slung around his shoulders. The Nuggets won 80-78. In the face of Murray’s struggles, Jokic’s 30 points on 12-of-23 shooting with 14 rebounds and four assists reestablished the appreciation many have for the engine to Denver’s success.

Denver’s title hopes have consistently been tossed aside when considering the absence of the complementary star power that typically translates to playoff success. Jokic had asserted himself as a top-10 player, but few teams have realistically competed for a championship without another All-Star by their side.

That roster opening was what made Murray’s uprising such an enthralling story to latch onto, the solution to perhaps the biggest question the Nuggets had to answer.

Consecutive struggles in Game 7 indicate a clear gap Murray still needs to figure out how to close. The type that can translate his playoff success to the regular season and at least get him amid the conversation for an All-Star berth.

Until then, Jokic will do all he can to push the Nuggets as far as his thinned down frame will allow, including in the next round against the LA Clippers and their big man tandem of Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell.

Not to say the 30-point outings for Murray are no more or that Michael Porter Jr. can’t put forth a breakout performance of his own. There’s a reason Nikola Jokic has been the Denver Nuggets’ lone All-Star the last two seasons and an All-NBA First Team selection from a season ago.

He’ll be sure to show why when the situation calls for it the most. He did it in Game 7. It’s what superstars do, more than anyone else on the Nuggets could.