DENVER — Nikola Jokic discovered his seat on the bench and bellowed on the rafters of his constructing, the one he has remodeled right into a temple that worships him.
The agony of his missed buzzer-beater alternative was doubled by the grim proven fact that he must play by means of his struggles for one more 5 minutes.
The Nuggets had his again.
Regardless of Jokic’s 8-for-25 evening, his workforce scored the primary seven factors of time beyond regulation and stormed to a 113-104 Sport 3 victory over the top-seeded Thunder on Friday. Oklahoma Metropolis was held to only two factors within the further interval after Clutch Participant of the Yr obvious snub Aaron Gordon drained a game-tying nook 3-pointer with 26.7 seconds to go in regulation.
Jokic struggled like he by no means has earlier than. Carrying a capturing sleeve over the suitable elbow that has irritated him for weeks, he missed all 10 pictures past the arc. His turnovers equaled or eclipsed his assists for the third consecutive recreation. That occurred 4 instances within the common season.
Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. did the whole lot inside their energy to select up the slack. Murray went for 27 factors on 19 pictures, plus eight assists and 4 steals. His good pocket go to Jokic created a floater that put Denver again forward by seven late in time beyond regulation, snuffing any Thunder comeback goals. Porter repented for a tough begin to the collection by scoring 21 factors on 5-of-6 exterior capturing.
The Nuggets gained regardless of giving up 17 offensive boards and securing solely 5 of their very own. Probably the most painful they allowed occurred with a 99-97 lead. Jalen Williams punished them, burying a go-ahead 3-pointer with simply within two minutes to play in regulation.
Williams was astounding within the absence of a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP assertion recreation. The Thunder’s second choice imposed his will and amassed 32 factors. SGA was contained to 18 on a 7-for-22 evening. The Thunder gained the paint, 56-32. That Denver prevailed anyway was virtually as astounding as its Sport 1 win.
Jokic’s first half was maybe the worst of his playoff profession. He picked up two early fouls, impacting his capability to take dangers together with his arms on the defensive finish. He loitered somewhat too removed from the basket and missed jumpers. His 2-for-9 capturing clip was accompanied by 5 turnovers and only one help. He didn’t clear up a single Nuggets miss, whereas Oklahoma Metropolis compiled 9 offensive rebounds.
On Denver’s last possession of the half, he was charged with a double-dribble, sending him to the bench arguing his innocence whereas a defensive sub changed him.
So the Nuggets tried to drive him right into a rhythm after halftime by calling their first play to generate a 15-footer off the catch. Jokic knocked it down. Nevertheless it was a pretend turning level. By the point he missed an uncontested layup throughout a wacky third quarter — failing to reward considered one of Murray’s many beautiful passes — it was clear he was going by means of it.
So had been the Thunder, luckily for Jokic. So was all people. In a single sequence to summarize all of them, Porter, Westbrook and Alex Caruso missed consecutive layups. An ornery Ball Area viewers erupted when its workforce one way or the other grasped a 71-69 lead. Then Caruso all of the sudden turned sniper — he shot 35.3% from 3 this season — and briefly reestablished Oklahoma Metropolis’s cushion. It led 83-80 on the finish of the body. The non-Jokic minutes weren’t the looming risk; the non-Murray minutes had been.
Murray operated and facilitated with extra precision than he did in OKC, even when he or a teammate didn’t money in on his creation. His deal with was artful. His ending was gnarly, by no means extra so than when he banked a topsy-turvy layup late within the third.
The Nuggets stole home-court benefit by splitting the primary two contests in Oklahoma Metropolis, however that hasn’t mattered a lot in a second spherical that began with six consecutive house groups shedding. Denver interim coach David Adelman was requested about that phenomenon Friday earlier than opening tip. He incorrectly hinted at an expectation {that a} younger OKC workforce would deal with the stress of clutch time.
“You understand what’s humorous? I believe it could be the 3-point line,” Adelman mentioned. “I actually do. I believe it’s the nice equalizer proper now in our recreation. I additionally assume that’s why you see extra blowouts within the playoffs, as a result of there’s groups that may get scorching and make 20. … You get uncontrolled in a short time. And I don’t know why, however I really feel like this era of gamers — possibly it’s the way in which they grew up, enjoying AAU and touring everywhere and enjoying, they’re much less prone to really feel as a lot anxiousness on the highway.”
As a substitute, the Thunder received tight. Isaiah Hartenstein missed badly on his often computerized push shot. Perimeter gamers dribbled into crowds. The workforce missed six of seven pictures in time beyond regulation.
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