In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat faced a pair of stars that don’t play off each other all that much. Over seven games, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum had six total assists to each other.

In Game 1 of the NBA finals on Thursday, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic had nine assists to each other. And they now have 93 assists to each other over 16 playoff games, more than three times as many as Brown and Tatum had to each other (27) over 20. And the Nuggets’ two stars didn’t have to pass the ball to make each other better in their team’s 104-93 victory.

One of them is a two-time Kia MVP. The other has twice averaged more than 31 points in a playoff series. And they may have the best two-man chemistry in the NBA.

Here’s a bit of film on how difficult the Nuggets’ Murray-Jokic actions are to defend:

1. Along the sideline

The first possession of the game was supposed to be a post-up for Jokic, not a screen for Murray. But Bam Adebayo denied the entry pass. Murray didn’t hesitate, using both Jokic and Adebayo as a screen on Gabe Vincent, getting baseline, and finishing over Caleb Martin…

Murray’s second basket of the game came, basically, on the same play. Adebayo fronted Jokic, who then stepped up to set a sideline screen for Murray. Adebayo was in position to stop the drive, so Murray just pulled up from 15 feet.

2. From the top

Murray has shot 62-for-111 (55.9%) on pull-up 2-pointers in the playoffs. Those 62 makes are 15 more than any other player has, while that 55.9% is the second-best mark among 33 players who’ve attempted at least 25 pull-up 2s.

That’s efficient scoring, but the Heat let Murray walk into a couple of comfortable pull-ups when Adebayo was in drop coverage on standard pick-and-rolls from the top of the floor.

Murray was 5-for-9 on pull-up 2s in Game 1.

3. From the side

Murray and Jokic also ran pick-and-rolls from the side of the floor. Midway through the second quarter, Adebayo switched one of those. So Jokic took Haywood Highsmith into the post and drew a foul.

According to Second Spectrum tracking, the Nuggets have scored a very efficient 1.25 points per chance when Jokic has posted up this season. On Thursday, it was 14 points on nine chances (1.56 per).

4. Empty corner

The play above had Bruce Brown in the left corner. Late in the second, the Nuggets ran a pair of Murray/Jokic from the left side with nobody in that corner, making it tougher to help on the roll.

First, Adebayo switched the screen and Jokic took Jimmy Butler into the post. He seemed ready to go to work, but Michael Porter Jr. came over and set a flare screen for Murray. So Jokic kicked it out for a Murray 3.

They ran the empty-corner pick-and-roll again on the next possession. Adebayo didn’t switch this time, instead trying to guard both guys. But that allowed Jokic to get good position at the left block, from where he pirouetted for a short jump hook…

Midway through the third quarter, Murray and Jokic ran a pick-and-roll toward an empty corner. Adebayo was in drop coverage, Murray drove at him, and kicked the ball back to Jokic for an in-rhythm 3.

5. Against the zone

Murray and Jokic were even able to run pick-and-roll against the Heat’s zone. It allowed Jokic to get a catch in the middle of the paint, from where he found Jeff Green cutting behind Duncan Robinson…

There’s not an easy solution for the Murray-Jokic pick-and-roll. Play drop coverage and you’re giving Murray space to shoot or Jokic space to roll into. Play a little bit higher and Jokic is getting behind you. Switch and he’s posting up somebody much smaller than him. The Nuggets have been terrific against zone this season.

One thing that the Heat didn’t try is blitzing and trapping those pick-and-rolls with a ton of ball pressure to make the pass to Jokic as difficult as possible. But rotating out of that would be difficult if Murray can find an escape pass, whether it’s to Jokic or somebody else.

Game 1 was actually the Nuggets’ fourth least efficient offensive performance of their 16 playoff games. But Denver’s bread and butter was near impossible to stop. And if it continues to be that way, this could be a short series.

Game 2 tips Sunday (8:00 ET, ABC).

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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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