Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dueled for MVP on Monday and for an important win for one team. Each star shone bright down the stretch but the Oklahoma City Thunder guard was brighter, beating the Denver Nuggets 129-126 on a game-winning three.
With 3.3 seconds remaining and the game tied at 126, Gilgeous-Alexander rose up for a 26-foot step-back three off an Ajay Mitchell feed from a sidelineout of bounds that may have cemented his MVP case while dropping Denver to 39-26. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points, nine rebounds and 15 assists. Jokic answered with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists— another triple-double — but it wasn’t enough, even with his nine-straight points in the final minute.
That final sequence could haunt the Nuggets. After Jokic drilled a three and Jamal Murray converted a four-point play to tie the game at 126 via his screen that was run through, head coach David Adelman called timeout with 8.5 seconds left. Adelman made the decision to go for defense no matter what with no timeouts, subbing out both Jokic and Murray, leaving Spencer Jones switched onto SGA for the final defensive possession. After SGA’s dagger, Gordon had no other choice but to launch a desperation 62-foot heave at the buzzer which didn’t come close. The Nuggets’ best players watched the finish from the bench.
For a quarter, it looked like Denver might finally have an answer for Oklahoma City. It was Gordon’s first time playing against the Thunder this year and he scored 19 points in just 6:54 of first-quarter action — the most he’s ever scored in a first quarter as a Nugget. And since at least 2017-18, when minute-per-quarter data became available, no player had scored that many points in any quarter while playing fewer than seven minutes. Gordon was 5-of-6 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line, helping Denver build a 13-point lead.
“You just forget what he brings to us — the ball handling, the execution, all those things,” Adelman said. “He’s a big part of what we do.”
Gordon finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes, though he was on a minutes restriction in his second game back from injury.
Then came the all-too-familiar second quarter. Denver scored just 20 points in the period on 6-of-20 shooting (30%), allowing Oklahoma City to flip a three-point deficit into a six-point halftime lead.
“For me, it was the second quarter that lost us this game again,” Adelman said. “We started the second quarter, made six points in six minutes. Just didn’t do a good enough job. We have to keep searching for the right unit that can play together and complement each other.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. did his part, knocking down a season-best eight three-pointers on his way to 28 points, but he was largely alone from deep. Hardaway and Gordon combined for 37 of Denver’s 60 first-half points.
“Tim was really special,” Adelman said. “The other guys have to make shots… We got that tonight from just one guy. We’re going to need more from other people.”
Jaylin Williams made a career-high seven three-pointers on his way to 29 points and 12 rebounds, continuing to be a problem for Denver’s defense. Mitchell, playing his first game back after missing 20, added 24 points off the bench.
The Thunder-Nuggets rivalry added another chapter with 1:12 remaining. Luguentz Dort was called for a flagrant foul after his arm caught Jokic in the face, drawing blood from Denver’s star center. Jokic converted one of two free throws and then drilled a three on the ensuing possession to pull within three.
When asked about Dort’s foul, Adelman was terse.
“I’m done talking about that,” he said. “It’s every time we play them. So you’ve got to move past it, just try to win the game. Obviously, that play helped us stay in the game. Sometimes plays like that can flip a game.”
It got the Nuggets to a tie, but not to a win.
Cameron Johnson’s struggles continued. He finished with just six points on 1-of-5 shooting in 22 minutes and left the game with back spasms in the third quarter, but returned.
“You gotta let these guys be patient with them, let their games come back,” Adelman said of his returning players. “That’s just how it is in the NBA. Instant gratification is not real. Guys have bodies, they have minds. They’re getting through a lot of things.”
Denver has now lost two straight to Oklahoma City and still hasn’t found an answer for the league’s best team. The Nuggets dominated inside with 54 points in the paint and won the rebounding battle 56-37, but couldn’t stop the Thunder’s offense when it mattered most.
What’s next for the Nuggets?
The Nuggets continue their very disjoined schedule, and against tough teams too, hosting the Rockets on Wednesday before a trip to San Antonio on Thursday.