Denver guard is historically generous

Johnson did it six times in his career, starting in the 1983 Finals, where he had 10+ assists in all four games as the Lakers were swept by the 76ers. He did it in five straight games of the 1984 Finals, all six games of the Finals in 1985, all five games of the 1991 Finals and three in a row, twice, in 1988.

Cousy did it three times in the Celtics sweep of the Lakers in 1959, the last year before the team relocated to Los Angeles. 

But neither man did it in the first three Finals games of their career, like Murray has. And neither scored like Murray, who has 78 points in his first three Finals games. The threat of that scoring opens up passing lanes for easy buckets for his teammates.

They also didn't have Nikola Jokic to pass to. Seven of Murray's assists in Game 3 went to his center. In the Finals, 17 of his 30 assists were from Jokic buckets. Miami simply has no answer for the Jokic-Murray two-man game.

There was an idea that Miami could slow down the Nuggets by making Jokic a scorer, and not a passer. But three games into the series, Jokic has 100 points and 28 assists. Murray has 78 and 30 assists. Both Nuggets stars are both scorers and passers, and that's trouble for the Heat.