On the night when Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray became the first teammates in the history of the NBA — let alone in the Finals — to each record a 30-point triple-double, the two-time league MVP told Christian Braun that the rookie won Game 3 for the Nuggets.
Braun, seeking to follow up his national championship at Kansas in 2022 with an NBA title in his initial professional season, nailed seven of eight shots and scored a personal playoff-high 15 points in 19 minutes off the bench as the Nuggets grabbed a 2-1 series lead over the Heat on Wednesday night in Miami.
“Christian Braun had [an] amazing game. I told him, ‘You won us the game,’ Jokic said after posting his 10th triple-double of these playoffs with 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists.
“He’s a winner, and he won us the game, with energy, just the focus, the mindset.
“Even when he make a mistake, it’s an aggressive mistake, so you cannot be mad at him. I always say that. He won us the game, and he was really good [Wednesday night].”
Braun (pronounced Brown) was the Nuggets’ first-round selection (21st overall) last June, barely two months after winning the NCAA Tournament with the Jayhawks.
The 6-foot-7 wing appears to be the latest shrewd find by the Denver front office following Jokic as a second-round selection in 2014, Murray (seventh overall in 2016) and Michael Porter Jr,, who was grabbed with the 14th selection amid injury concerns in 2018.
“Christian has proved himself all year long, and he was in the rotation end of season. He’s been in the rotation throughout these 18 playoff games now,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “If you look around, there’s not many rookies playing meaningful minutes in the NBA this time of year, and it speaks to Christian’s confidence. It speaks to him being a winner.
“Tonight, man, I could just feel the confidence kind of oozing out of him, the physical, aggressive drives, making plays for guys against their zone. It was really fun to watch a young man step up like the way Christian did.”
The 22-year-old Braun averaged 4.7 points in 15.5 minutes over 76 regular-season appearances, emerging as one of the valuable role players complementing the team’s two bona fide stars, Jokic and Murray.
“Those guys make it really easy. Playing with those guys, they make the right play every time,” Braun said. “My job is just to be ready when my name is called. Playing with Nikola, playing with Jamal, whoever it is, just got to be ready for the ball, and [Wednesday] they found me in some pretty easy spots.
It’s the NBA Finals, so if a player’s name is called, he knows he’s gotta to be ready.
“The guys trusted me all year, so when I get in the game, I just try to defend and do the little things, obviously make it easier on me.”
Malone added that Braun, who also won three state championships at his Kansas high school, “showed up with that” confidence and winning mentality — and he’s been “everything we hoped for and more” in his rookie campaign.
Braun also was 3-for-3 and scored eight points in the Nuggets’ Game 2 loss to the Heat, making him 10-for-11 from the floor in his last two Finals appearances.
He also partly drew the defensive assignment against Heat star Jimmy Butler in Game 3.
“Man, it’s rare. He’s a very rare rookie,” veteran teammate Aaron Gordon said. “From Day 1, he’s been on top of it. This is a real winner right here. I say that because he’s always in the right spot. He’s in the right place at the right time, and he’s been doing that all year, he’s been doing that from Day 1, and nothing changes.
“He’s in the right place at the right time on the biggest stage, and now you guys are getting to see it.”