The Denver Nuggets lost a heartbreaker to the Oklahoma City Thunder 129-126 despite the best efforts of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Jokic had 32 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, while Murray put up 21 points on 23 shots along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists despite spraining his ankle last game. Tim Hardaway Jr made eight three-pointers and Aaron Gordon scored 19 points in the first en route to 23 for the game but in the end it was the things Denver didn’t do that cost them the game. The second quarter rotations were atrocious and the Nuggets only scored 20 points in that frame, losing it by 9 in a three-point final margin.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was tremendous, scoring 35 points and adding 9 rebounds and 15 assists, while Jaylin Williams had 29 points and 12 boards and Ajay Mitchell poured in 24 off the bench. OKC had an answer for everything Denver threw, and the Nuggets will have to go back to the drawing board for ways to win in the clutch against the Thunder, because OKC has more playable options and better late-game execution than Denver. That gap has to be closed before the Nuggets see them in the playoffs – because if it isn’t they might not make it to that matchup in the first place. The Thunder are treating the Nuggets the way the Nuggets treated the Lakers in Denver’s championship run: a fun matchup that holds no fear in the end of games. If Denver doesn’t want to get treated like that, it’s up to them to do something about it.
Game Flow
The Nuggets opened with the pick-and-roll and Murray fed Jokic for the layup in traffic. Aaron Gordon curled from one side and passed to Jokic for another floater, that SGA answered. Christian Braun missed a three and AG missed the putback, while Jaylin Williams buried a three going the other way. Gordon got to the line on a three point shot and made two, then finished a feed from Jokic for a traditional three-point play. SGA pulled the same trick the other way though to leave Denver up 9-8 early. Jokic had his shot blocked, but Cam Johnson grabbed the rebound and got it to AG for a three. OKC missed some threes, Aaron Gordon finished in the paint and hit a three for a 17-8 Denver lead. Jamal hit a turnaround over Lu Dort, Cam closed out well on Williams and AG got back to the line again to get to 17 early points. Dort hit a three and a Jokic turnover turned into a dunk, then Jamal and SGA exchanged buckets near the basket. Murray pulled up near the elbow to keep the lead at 10, and AG reverse-dunked a Joker feed from the paint. Tim Hardaway Jr. had a turnover on a bad call, then missed a three while OKC kept attacking the rack. After a mini 6-0 run by the Thunder, Jokic buries a three and then Julian Strawther forced a jump ball with SGA. With AG out though Denver lost its physical play, as Williams hit a 3 and SGA finished at the rim as part of an 11-3 Thunder run to close to 32-28 Denver. The Thunder retook the lead briefly on a corner three but THJ hit one from the top of the key to answer. Ajay Mitchell hit a pair of buckets, Hardaway hit a three and a layup, and Denver finished the first up 40-37.
Dort started the second with a three for OKC. Jonas Valanciunas finished in the paint, Hardaway tried for a dunk but got fouled and missed both free throws, but make a baseline Jumper. Isaiah Joe made a three and a floater to put OKC back up on top, and Jamal answered with a driving layup. Ajay Mitchell hit another three, then had a traditional three-point play for an 11-2 run to put OKC up 51-46. Jamal and Jokic both missed threes, Jaylin Williams made his to cap the OKC run at 16-2 before Murray hit a jumper for Denver. Christian Braun got a steal that took him to the free throw line but he missed both. Denver’s woeful second quarter continued as the Nuggets fell behind 60-48 with three minutes left in the half, then THJ hit a three and Cam Johnson grabbed a defensive rebound and went the length of the court for free throws. Tim Hardaway buried a three, Jokic kept cleaning the glass, and he fed AG for another trip to the line after a foul. Cam Johnson missed a pullup, Shai hit his, Jokic hit a pair of free throws and Isaiah Joe buried an open three to take OKC into the break up 66-60.
Aaron Gordon dunked a great putback on a Jamal Murray miss, but then the Thunder when to their three-point bag again. AG and Mal both missed several chances in the paint, Williams and Joe buried three-pointers, and THJ answered with one for Denver. Jokic finished his 7th shot of the game, Braun and Joe exchanged missed threes, and Hardaway missed a couple of shots as the Nuggets couldn’t capitalize on OKC’s misses. Dort had a steal, CB blocked SGA, and Tim Hardaway hit a three to tie it at 72. Spencer Jones followed a CB transition miss for a dunk, Andrew Wiggins hits a baseline finish and Jokic had a low post finish. SGA beat Braun for a layup but Murray had one too. Jokic and Jones finished to offset OKC buckets, then Jokic hit a high arc in the paint as he started scoring more. Hardaway made a 3 but OKC made two, then Jokic got called for traveling in the paint somehow. Denver lost its edge down the stretch after Murray and AG sat and Cam Johnson had to leave briefly with back spasms. Jokic hit a jumper, then found Braun for a banked finish and his first bucket, but it wasn’t enough as SGA attacked downhill and kept OKC with the 96-93 lead heading into the fourth.
Jokic started the fourth and Cam Johnson came back with Murray and AG against the Thunder bench and immediately Joker found Tim for a three. The Thunder subbed back in some starters too, and Bruce Brown’s turnover turned into a Jaylin Williams finish. Jokic and AG sat again while Cam had a great loose ball recovery and it became a Jamal finish, then Jamal found him for a three the next time down. Cam missed a lane finish but CB cleaned it up. Cam attacked the rim and made 1-of-2 free throws, but Jaylin Williams made a three the other way after a Tim Hardaway miss. Spencer Jones had his shot blocked but recovered it for a finish to tie the game at 107, but Williams hit a layup after a Jokic turnover to get the lead back. OKC hit another three, Jamal made free throws after finally getting a call in the paint, but the Thunder answered right back with and Isaiah Joe jumper. Christian Braun blocked SGA’s shot but despite a review it was called a foul and SGA made both free throws. Jamal answered with a runner, but AG couldn’t finish in the paint and OKC hit another corner three to go up 8 at 121-113. Hardaway made his eighth three of the game, Lu Dort got called for a flagrant for hitting Jokic in the face on a screen, and then Joker made one of two free throws and buried a three to make it a one score game with a minute left. SGA hit his own three though to put OKC up four, and Jokic answered with one of his own as Williams fouled Murray which made it a four-point play. Murray hit his free throw to tie the game at 126. Denver didn’t have any more timeouts though, and pulled Jokic for defense. Shai hit the game-winning three and Denver had under 3 seconds for a heave without Jokic on the court that did not go in, and the Nuggets lost 129-126.
Final Thoughts
-At some point it would be great if Denver’s coaching staff would help their players. Coach David Adelman’s rotation choices to close the first quarter and leading into the second quarter were unfathomable, and cost Denver the game. When he pulled Aaron Gordon after AG’s torrid start due to the minutes restrictions, he refused to put Spencer Jones in the game. The suddenly-small Nuggets got taken advantage of by the Thunder and what was a nice lead dwindled to one bucket by the end of the period. The Thunder then took a 3 point disadvantage and turned it into a 10-point lead as Adelman brought back a tired AG to start the second quarter for some reason – again foregoing Spencer Jones – and the AG / Valanciunas lineup that had essentially zero minutes all year proved to play together like a pickup game of strangers at the YMCA.
Adelman’s rotations are not helped by whatever Denver is doing on defense. The Nuggets cannot stop anyone during any part of the game. Denver did a great job of holding onto the ball against OKC’s pressure, only turning the ball over 8 times. OKC turned it over 3. Denver bothered no one, could not force turnovers, and gave up 29 points as their lowest total in any quarter with 37, 30 and 33 as their other figures in a three-point loss. Denver can’t lean into its offense because the second quarter stretches demolish any lead they get, and can’t lean into their defense because they only have one when no one else is available. Denver’s roleplayers like Christian Braun and Bruce Brown have to figure out how to make an impact, and Cam Johnson and Aaron Gordon have to get back to full speed. But none of it works when your head coach can’t put together lineups that will play like they’ve ever met before. Murray, AG and Cam were not at full strength or effectiveness but they were gutting it out to the tune of 126 points. The coaches need to start gutting out some tougher decisions too. Denver cannot have stretches like that second quarter where they are put in position to fail rather than succeed. They cannot pull Jokic with no timeouts and cost themselves a chance to tie. Adelman has to be better in order to allow the team to be better, and the team HAS to be better if they plan to play past April.
