DENVER • Before Thursday night’s Game 1 on of the NBA Finals, NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Nikola Jokic a “global superstar.’’ Then the Nuggets center put on an all-world performance.

In his first Finals game, Jokic had a triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in Denver’s 104-93 win over the Miami Heat at Ball Arena. He became the second NBA player to have a triple-double in his Finals debut, the first being New Jersey point guard Jason Kidd in 2002. But it must be said that Kidd’s New Jersey Nets lost that game 99-94 and ended up being swept 4-0 in the series by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jokic extended the Wilt Chamberlain NBA record he broke last week of most triple-doubles in a single postseason and now has nine. So how did the Big Dipper do in his first Finals game in 1964? He had 22 points, 23 rebounds and just one assist as his San Francisco Warriors lost 10896 loss to the Boston Celtics.

The way Jokic started out, it looked as if he might rival some records set by point guards for assists in a game. With the Heat clearly worried about his scoring, he had six assists in the first quarter and just four points with one official field-goal attempt. At halftime, he had 10 assists and a modest 10 points with just three official field-goal attempts.

“I don’t force it,’’ he said. “I never force it, I think. It was a couple guys had it going. … I just take whatever the game gives me.”

The reduced scoring load by their star hardly slowed down the Nuggets. They led 29-20 after the first quarter, with forward Aaron Gordon having scored 12 of his 16 points, and 59-42 at halftime, with guard Jamal Murray having scored 18 of his 26 points.

“I think that’s the beauty of Nikola,’’ said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “I learned a long time ago the defense tells you what to do, and Nikola never forces it. If they’re going to give him that kind of attention, he had 10 assists at halftime. … He’s going to just pick you apart. Now it’s up to the other guys to step in and make shots.”

Nuggets players did just that early in the game. And then in the second half, with the defense loosened up, Jokic started scoring. He had 17 points after intermission, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to finish with his game-high 27.

“He takes great satisfaction in making plays for others,’’ Malone said. “He really does. I think he takes more joy in that. I don’t think he cares if he scored 27 points or not. “He cares that we’re up 1-0.”

For the game, Jokic shot 8 of 12, including 1 of 2 from threepoint range. He had a blocked shot and just two turnovers and just one foul.

“He’s a force down there and he’s just more athletic than people credit him for, and he just has a ridiculous motor,’’ said Gordon. “He has a motor that doesn’t quit and it’s tough guarding a guy like that.”

It was the first Finals game in the 47-season NBA history of the franchise, and the Nuggets were greeted by a raucous sellout crowd of 19,528. Jokic was anxious to put all the hoopla aside and just play basketball.

“To be honest, I couldn’t wait to start just because when the game started it felt abnormal,’’ he said. “Everything else… felt abnormal, and the whole media day (Wednesday) or the day before. … I think people are making something bigger than it is. When the game started, I felt really comfortable.”

There was nothing abnormal about Jokic’s performance. After all, he averaged 24.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists during the regular season and came in with playoff averages this spring of 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.3 assists.

“I think it’s a really nice brand of basketball that we have, and everybody buys in,’’ said Jokic, never one to care about statistics.

Jokic wasn’t the only “star” player Silver had singled out before the game. He also made note of Miami forward Jimmy Butler.

However, Butler had a pedestrian outing Thursday, scoring just 13 points on 6 of 14 shooting. Jokic indeed was the “global superstar” on display in Game 1.