A Thunderstorm is moving in.
Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault broke down his team’s series against the Denver Nuggets as a “slugfest” ahead of Game 5 on Tuesday.
As the Thunder appeared to be down for the count, trailing by eight points, 92-84, to start the final frame, they got down to business and took care of their home court.
As soon as Jaylin Williams checked into the game for the first time with 37 seconds left in the opening quarter, he ran over to Nikola Jokic and placed a hand on his back.
Williams wanted to let Jokic know he was there, and his presence had been felt throughout the series. His swarming defense had played a major role in the struggles of Jokic, who only shot 33.3% from the field, 18.2% from 3-point range in the Nuggets’ last three games.
But with just under seven minutes to go until halftime, Jokic put his foot down, indicating he had enough. Actually, it was his shoulder.
The three-time MVP lumbered into the lane and leaned into Williams, who went flying across the hardwood. And after missing an easy one, Jokic got the tip-in to fall.
There was not much that Williams or anyone else on the Thunder could do to stop or even contain Jokic. The Joker was wild, finishing with 44 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.
His Robin, Jamal Murray, came off of a screen, a mountain-mover of a teammate, and saw an opening to the basket.
Chet Holmgren rushed over to provide some resistance. But even his long arms failed to deter Murray, who navigated around them for an and-one reverse layup.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Denver guard then flexed his muscles and soaked in the sorrows and frustrations of a frustrated Thunder crowd, which is normally like a college atmosphere. That was the start of a scoring barrage by Murray, who went off for 13 points during a span of just 3 minutes and 47 seconds early in the third quarter.
The Nuggets lead ballooned from two points to nine, and they led by as many as 12 points in the quarter. But OKC gradually chipped away at the deficit throughout the rest of the night, and they ultimately completed the comeback
Lu Dort, who had been previously benched, hovered around the 3-point line with his hands raised to his hips. He was focused, locked and loaded, ready to fire away if given the ball midway through the fourth quarter. And that was probably the right thing to do.
Dort had already knocked down two triples in the quarter. Each one breathed life into the Thunder, which felt like their season was teetering, as they trailed in a pivotal Game 5.
Williams skipped a pass to Dort and watched with confidence as he unleashed a deep bomb. It found the bottom of the net, trimming the Nuggets lead to 92-90 and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Dort came up big for OKC when it mattered most, in the fourth quarter. He scored nine points to help the Thunder escape with a win.
The Thunder were in the same boat during their second-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks just one year ago. But the Thunder suffered a 12-point home loss, 104-92, to the Mavericks in Game 5, and they ultimately lost the series in six games.
It was a teaching tool for the young and inexperienced OKC squad, which passed the test with flying colors this time around.
History did not repeat itself, and now it is on the Thunder’s side. Teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 best-of-seven series have gone on to advance 81.3% of the time (191-44).
“This is a really disappointing loss,” Denver interim coach David Adelman said. “The guys in there should be disappointed. It’s a heavy loss and we have to bounce back quickly to win Game 6 and give ourselves a chance to come back, have a game like this, but finish it.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Jalen Williams added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Holmgren contributed 14 points and eight boards. Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 23 field goals and bounced back from a slow start to lead six players in double figures.
“What the great players do is they rise in the face of those challenges and adversities,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “And I just thought he got more and more composed as the game went on. And despite the fact that the pressure was mounting and it got hotter in there, he got cooler and just kind of settled into it, made the right plays, let the game tell him what to do.”
Game 6 will be at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 15, in Denver on ESPN.
