The Denver Nuggets came out like they were going to play a scrimmage, while the Oklahoma City Thunder came out like they were geared up for war and that made all the difference in OKC’s blowout victory over the Nuggets 149-106. Denver wasn’t in this from the jump. The Thunder tied the playoff record with 87 points in the first half alone and were in complete control of every aspect of this game. Nikola Jokic had 17 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists on 16 shots when he fouled out late in the third quarter, but no one for Denver was particularly good. Russell Westbrook was the leading Denver scorer with 19, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 34 points and 8 assists to lead the way for a balanced OKC attack which had every starter in double figures and played 10 in their rotation even before the fourth quarter garbage time. Denver just never found a groove and could not disrupt the Thunder’s fury on either end, and the series heads to Denver tied a 1-1.
Game Flow
The game started with a missed OKC three and an MPJ rebound that became a Jamal Murray jumper. Lu Dort had a corner three in response and Hartenstein had a dunk, then MPJ got to the line and made a pair. A couple of Denver turnovers hurt as OKC converted, but an Aaron Gordon corner three kept Denver close. Jalen Williams cut for a crowd-pleasing dunk and Denver’s missed threes turned into paint finishes for OKC and a 15-7 Thunder lead. AG got to the line for two but a Chet Holmgren corner three forced a Nuggets timeout down 9 early. Denver missed six straight shots, including a beautiful open three for Mike from a great AG pass until Jokic made a bucket, but Jaylin Williams hit a three and SGA finished to make it 25-11 Thunder with more than 4 minutes to go in the quarter. The Thunder packed the paint which left open shots for Denver that the Nuggets did not make, while the Thunder ran on every miss and made nearly every shot. After a steal from Jokic and finish it was 40-16 with the Thunder shooting 71% from the field for the quarter. Westbrook had a 3 and a tough finish, but every miss for Denver seemed to turn into another three for OKC. After one, Denver trailed 45-21.
DeAndre Jordan finished an oop to start the second quarter scoring. Jalen Williams and Aaron Gordon exchanged threes, and then AG got called for goaltending a block of Jalen’s’ shot. Westbrook made free throws, Cason Wallace answered with a straight-away three, and Gordon hit a paint turnaround over Chet. Jalen Williams made his free throws and then Russ was called for a charge trying to force things going the other way. Another Williams three put OKC up by 27 at 57-30 and forced a timeout from Denver. Jokic came back in, but AG had his first shot blocked while Caruso finished in transition on the other end. Murray finally hit a three, and a Thunder turnover turned into a Russ layup on a long Jokic feed. Denver simply could not stop the red-hot Thunder though, as Aaron Wiggins hit a three and Wallace nailed a finish after Chet blocked AG twice. A Wiggins dunk off a steal was answered by a Jokic 3, but then Wiggins hit another dunk and Russ missed a three while SGA made his attempt. Jokic hit a pull up but Denver turned the ball over with offensive fouls or bad passes, or simply couldn’t finish through uncalled contact. Hartenstein made a tip shot and Jalen Williams finished an oop and Denver trailed 78-43. Peyton Watson came in off th4e bench for Denver and hit a three and Russ and Jokic made foul shots after finally getting a call, but the Nuggets provided no resistance to the Thunder whatsoever and trailed 87-56 at the half.
Denver’s starters came out with a turnover, got stuffed under the rim, and then committed a pair of offensive fouls that led to an OKC bucket. Jamal Murray hit a pair of free throws, Porter missed another three and Jokic’s putback finish was erased by another offensive foul call. Denver just couldn’t generate anything and having starters out there seemed foolish with so many injured guys. Jamal and MPJ both hit threes and Jokic had a paint finish but that only cut the lead to 30. Hartenstein’s free throws and a Holmgren three put an end to that mini-run. Every time Denver made a shot, the Thunder got to the line or finished a dunk. Denver’s starters stayed in for their normal third quarter rotations but it didn’t make any difference as Denver still struggled to score and defend, losing the quarter by 17 while Jokic fouled out and falling behind 124-76 heading into the fourth.
The benches emptied to start the fourth, as they should with that massive a point differential. Watson made a pair of shots, Julian Strawther had a tough finish and a free throw, and Zeke Nnaji made a deep shot and had a block as Denver’s reserves came in with decent energy as they attempted to knock the rust off after not playing much the last month. OKC kept scoring though, and the play devolved into more preseason rather than postseason play with Denver winning the final frame 30-25 but not making much of a dent in the final deficit. The final score wound up being 149-106.
Final Thoughts
– It’s 1-1 going back to Denver, and that’s all that matters… for now. Yes, the Nuggets came out slow and unprepared for the Oklahoma City onslaught. Yes, the Thunder were hotter than the surface of the sun while Denver bricked every open shot, but Denver couldn’t or wouldn’t close out, box out or get out of their own way. The Nuggets were complacent and probably tired, while the Thunder had revenge on their minds. But if OKC had blown Denver out in Game 1 and Denver had taken Game 2 in a nail-biter instead the narrative after this game would be far different. Don’t sweat the narrative. This series will come down to how much Denver has left in the tank. If they have enough to win the tight games then the blowouts still only count as one game. The Thunder have both an incredible offense and incredible defense and have done this sort of thing all year – it was just Denver’s turn for a taste of what it feels like when they are cooking on both sides of the ball.
Yes, it hurts to see Denver give up 87 points in a playoff half, tying the most in playoff history. Denver’s other max players didn’t show up again, and at some point if Denver has a chance to win this one they are going to have to do that. But for now the Nuggets got a series split and have a chance to take the series lead again in a Game 3 on their home court, and that’s all Denver could have asked for from this game. Sometimes things don’t go your way and games get out of your control. The Nuggets need to handle what they can control, which is their effort and execution on both ends in Game 3 to give themselves a real shot to win the series.
