A NIGHT TO FORGET: Oklahoma Recovers Break, Denver Overcomes 15-Point Deficit, But Falls Short!

The Denver Nuggets were defeated by the Oklahoma City Thunder with a score of 92-87 on their home court in the fourth game of the playoff series. The series is now tied at 2-2.

When you score eight points in a quarter, miss your first 17 three-pointers, and set all sorts of negative records in the first quarter of a playoff game, it’s safe to say you don’t have much to hope for. Many teams would have given up or been demoralized after just 12 minutes like that, but Denver is not one of them. They forgot everything bad from the first half, came alive in the second, and made a comeback, but this time they faltered in the final stretch.

The Nuggets couldn’t pull off another comeback and take a commanding 3-1 lead, even though it seemed like they had everything in their hands at the end of the third quarter. Nikola Jokić gave it his all, the Nuggets fought against such a poor night, however, the Thunder take the series back to Oklahoma tied in the Western Conference semifinals – 92-87.

During the first quarter in Colorado, fans in the stands were turning around to see if they had mistakenly ended up in some school gym instead of the Denver Nuggets’ arena, watching people who had just finished their workday, while those watching on television screens were constantly checking if they had the wrong channel. Those with a strong stomach could survive the first 12 minutes in which Denver shot 0/14 from three-point range and a total of 2/21 from the field, which was more than disastrous. Jokić didn’t score a single point during that time, and the quarter ended with a score of 17-8, which is the worst quarter in NBA playoff history! They tied the negative record of the Utah Jazz and Portland from 1999, and Denver also broke the negative record for the fewest points in a quarter in franchise playoff history.

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Nothing was going right. The misses were painful because they were either hitting the front of the rim or the Nuggets players were simply missing the entire basket structure, without exaggeration. Once again, Oklahoma packed the paint, played strong and hard, and didn’t allow Jokić and Gordon to bully them in the paint like in the first and third games, so the home players relied on their shot. They couldn’t buy a basket even with a bag of money because they missed practically everything. Their only luck was that Oklahoma also shot 1/11 from three-point range and was also very bad, so they had ‘only’ a nine-point lead after the first quarter, which was excellent considering how David Adelman’s team was playing. They changed their strategy in the second quarter and attacked the paint, which drew the Thunder into the bonus after three minutes.

They couldn’t score a field goal for nine (!) minutes, the Thunder’s lead grew and went to a double-digit advantage, but Denver managed to somehow come back with good defense. They had to invent points, they had to seriously grind for every point on the scoreboard, and nothing was going in for anyone. They played zone defense and provoked shots, which Caruso exploited with two three-pointers, and Jokić mostly scored from the free-throw line. At the end of the first half, he managed to hit an incredible falling one-legged three-pointer going forward and reduce the deficit to just six points, and at that moment, for the Nuggets, it was like winning the lottery. Jokić finished the half with 11 points (2/6 for two, 1/4 for three, 6/6 free throws), six rebounds, two assists, and three steals. One thing was clear – cold water and washing up in the locker room and for some other Nuggets to come out onto the court in the second half.

Nikola Jokić came out onto the court with one goal – to bury the opponent’s basket and ignite his team. When the Joker goes, so do the others, so Murray and Gordon also turned on their engines and quickly put the Thunder in the machine. With a 10-0 run, they took the lead thanks to three-pointers from the aforementioned duo, and Jokić bullied the guests from the paint. He went to the free-throw line, didn’t miss, and everyone else joined in. When Brown hit a three-pointer, Westbrook joined him in the next possession with another three-pointer for +6. He managed to steal the ball from Shai and brought the whole arena to its feet with his incredible energy, after which Denver finished the third quarter with good defense and had a +6 lead heading into the final quarter.

They found their game, controlled the match, and started the last quarter well while Jokić rested, but Oklahoma found a solution. They closed them down excellently and broke the zone defense with three three-pointers, so they quickly came back to just a one-point deficit, which forced Adelman to react and quickly bring the Serbian center back onto the court, there was no time to wait. Although Shai wasn’t going well, Denver’s defense wasn’t good, which left space for the other Thunder players – which is why they took the lead with six minutes left. It was a back-and-forth affair, with high intensity, excellent defense, a ‘brawl,’ and of course, both teams were in the bonus. Nikola Jokić became furious at everyone – the referees, his teammates, and the opponents. They were hitting him like throughout the entire series, and the referees timidly waited to blow their whistles, even though the fouls were obvious. With three minutes left, he missed free throws and three-pointers, and Oklahoma entered the final stretch with a significant seven-point lead. After Jokić’s points, Oklahoma lost the ball with 72 seconds left, and that was Denver’s last hope. After misses on both sides, 28 seconds remained for Denver’s hope, but Murray missed the entire basket, and that was the end, even though Gordon hit a three-pointer for -3 with just under two seconds left.

Nikola Jokić finished the game with 27 points (5/14 for two, 2/7 for three, 11/14 free throws), 13 rebounds, three assists, and four steals.