OKLAHOMA CITY — If the Nuggets are destined to be consumed by the best-rested staff within the West, they’re at the least going to withstand like loopy.
Chet Holmgren missed a pair of free throws with eight seconds left, and Aaron Gordon buried a 3-pointer within the chaos that adopted with 2.8 seconds remaining to steal a surprising 121-119 Sport 1 win from the Thunder.
On fumes from a seven-game slugfest, the Nuggets stored gritting their tooth and hanging on for pricey life, till they abruptly had an opportunity to finish a 14-point comeback when Nikola Jokic drained a 3, slicing the hole to 115-114 with a minute to go. He grappled for 42 factors, 22 rebounds and 6 assists within the win. Denver was nonetheless down by 9 with three minutes left.
Prefer it did in Sport 1 in opposition to the Clippers, the ball discovered an open Russell Westbrook within the nook within the final 30 seconds, down by some extent. The shot simply didn’t fall this time. Gordon seized an excellent offensive rebound on the baseline, however was surrounded by too many our bodies to rise up a clear second probability.
The Thunder deliberately fouled twice with a three-point lead till Denver pressured the ball into the younger and inexperienced Holmgren.
Now the Nuggets haven’t any alternative however to maintain gasping for air and rolling with Oklahoma Metropolis’s punches. Sport 2 is Wednesday at Paycom Heart after one other measly 48-hour reset interval.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the hosts with 33 factors, 10 boards and eight assists. Thunder function gamers Alex Caruso and Lu Dort mixed to make 9 3-pointers, constantly hitting the Nuggets the place it damage after the primary quarter.
Caruso confirmed why he’s top-of-the-line ball-hawks within the league and why buying and selling for him was one of the bulletproof strikes of the 2024 NBA offseason. When the Nuggets have been sufficiently worn out, he sensed it and calmly nabbed a reckless Murray cross. When the Nuggets have been going by way of their standard motions, he was alert. Serving to off of Westbrook to double Jokic within the submit, he abruptly lurched backward into the paint, realizing Westbrook’s commonplace working process after an entry cross was to chop.
Each steals was quick breaks. Caruso had three of them by halftime, and the Thunder had received his 11 minutes by 17 factors. That was a team-leading plus-minus from a bench participant. The opposite 13 minutes, Denver had received by seven.
So with Isaiah Hartenstein in foul hassle, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault changed him with Caruso to begin the second half. Caruso intercepted Murray and returned it for 2 on Denver’s first possession.
Westbrook made his first-ever playoff look in Oklahoma Metropolis as a Thunder opponent. The town’s timeless love for him was obvious. Followers interrupted their very own “M-V-P” chant for Gilgeous-Alexander to honor their previous MVP with a standing ovation when he checked in for the primary time.
Westbrook scored 18 off the bench and was an enormous contributor throughout a gritty third quarter when Denver shaved a 14-point deficit to 5 regardless of Jokic choosing up a harmful fourth foul — and David Adelman throwing away his problem in an effort to overturn it.
Jokic was at struggle with the officers all night time, as he usually is. Whereas he protested for his equal share of whistles, the house crowd additionally displayed some self-awareness with a tongue-in-cheek act of trolling. One level of scrutiny surrounding Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP candidacy this season was his tendency to reside on the foul line whereas amassing an environment friendly 33 factors per recreation.
So his supporters handled Jokic to a refrain of “free throw service provider” chants as he shot a pair through the second quarter, having leaned into Jaylin Williams to attract the foul.
Oklahoma Metropolis collapsed the paint on Jokic brilliantly and pressured Denver’s ball-handlers the size of the ground — as if to rub in the truth that the Nuggets had a day without work earlier than the collection and the Thunder had per week.
Jokic had 20 boards after three quarters, however inevitably, he wanted a breather. The margin for error was minimal already. The Nuggets have been impressively hanging on by a thread. Little swings have been the killers, like when Peyton Watson missed a fast-break layup and Caruso sank a nook 3 on the different finish, or when Oklahoma Metropolis pieced collectively a miniature 7-0 run early within the fourth. Caruso and Jalen Williams bought to the road a number of instances, and abruptly Denver was down double digits once more.
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