DENVER’S TURNAROUND IN A CRAZY FINISH! Jokić proved who the MVP is, with 42 points he carried the team – Gordon’s three-pointer turned off the lights in Oklahoma! (VIDEO)

The Denver Nuggets made a break in the very first game of the Western Conference semifinals of the NBA league, as they overcame the Oklahoma City Thunder after an unbelievable drama, with a score of 121:119.

The hero of the victory was once again Aaron Gordon, who hit a three-pointer with just under three seconds left, after a memorable finish. Before him, Chet Holmgren missed two free throws.

We saw true madness in Oklahoma, a doctoral dissertation by Nikola Jokić, who showed everyone why he is the MVP – he scored as many as 42 points, and also had 22 rebounds and six assists. Our ace carried the entire team, kept Denver in the game for almost two quarters without the help of others, played a quarter and a half with four fouls, and then the last six minutes with five fouls, but even that didn’t help Oklahoma – Denver will return to Colorado with at least one break.

The Thunder, except for the beginning of the game, were in the lead almost the entire time. However, the Nuggets showed championship character – little by little they reduced the deficit, and then in the very finish they managed a turnaround, in a way that only they know how.

Along with Jokić, Gordon was masterful with 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Jamal Murray added 21. On the other side, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33, with ten rebounds and eight assists, and Alex Caruso stopped at 20 points.

Denver opened the match better. Jokić scored the first points, followed by a three-pointer from Murray, which gave the Nuggets an initial 7:2 lead.

We saw smart play from the visitors at the start of the game, Murray got going, Nikola attacked from the paint, so David Adelman’s team had a plus eight with three minutes left in the first quarter (24:16). However, the Nuggets faded at the end of the first quarter, Oklahoma played much better defense, and on the wings of Gilgeous-Alexander they even took the lead after 12 minutes (27:26).

Where they left off in the first, the home players continued in the second quarter. Caruso hit the first three-pointer for Oklahoma, and then a basket by Wallace with a foul brought the Thunder to 35:26.

Denver somehow managed to hold on in these moments, in crisis without Nikola Jokić on the court, but the Thunder maintained the difference due to their three-point shooting – they made their first four three-pointers in the second quarter (43:33).

Our ace was doing wonders and at those moments he single-handedly kept Denver in the game – with points, but also with rebounds. The Thunder threatened to pull away to a larger lead, but the Nuggets managed to reduce it at the end of the half, and with Jokić’s 16 points and 12 rebounds, they went to the break with a minus ten (60:50).

Jokić started the third quarter with four points, but Oklahoma rejected that surge and it seemed they could once again steer the game into calmer waters for themselves (67:54). However, Denver always found a way to come back – contributions came from Brown, Gordon, Westbrook, and even Watson.

Despite Nikola’s brilliant game, a problem arose from the middle of the third quarter, after he was called for his fourth foul. However, he managed to avoid personal fouls until the end of the third quarter, and Denver, through Westbrook, managed to close the gap and reduce the deficit to just five points before the final 12 minutes (90:85).