OKLAHOMA CITY — To win in Shai’s house now and in the future, the Nuggets’ margin for error will be close to nonexistent.
This is true of both their execution and their health. Injuries, altered rotations and missed shots slowly caught up with Denver on Sunday afternoon until the result suddenly had the appearance of a rout. In the first round of an MVP double bill to be continued Monday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points to lead the Thunder to a 127-103 win over the Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic, the three-time MVP under siege by SGA this season, totaled 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. He was held to 10 points after the first quarter.
“The details matter, and the little things matter, when you’re playing against a team like that,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “And they grabbed 10 (loose) balls to our three. That can’t be the case. They can’t outwork us for those 50-50 balls. … In that fourth quarter, they capitalized on every mistake that we made. So to beat the No. 1 team in the West, you can’t play for (only) three quarters.”
Against Oklahoma City’s top-ranked defense in the league, which feasts on 17.6 turnovers per game by opponents, the Nuggets (41-23) coughed it up only seven times. But they shot 41.2% from the field and 30% from the 3-point line. The Thunder blocked 14 shots.
“We’ve been a pretty good fourth-quarter team,” Michael Porter Jr. said, “but tonight it kind of fell apart for us.”
After aiding an emphatic 14-3 opening run, Aaron Gordon was dismissed with right calf tightness and didn’t return. Jalen Williams took advantage, putting together a 26-point, eight-assist afternoon. Malone didn’t have an update on Gordon’s status after the loss, saying he still needed to speak to the team’s medical staff.
But whether or not Denver’s dynamic power forward plays Monday or this week or next, his departure represented a looming threat to the roster’s deep-playoff potential. Gordon has already missed more than 20 games for a strain in the same calf. He also missed three games for a sprained ankle recently.
“Injuries are part of basketball,” Jokic said. “He’s fighting. He’s trying to get back. But hopefully he’s going to be ready and healthy for the playoffs.”
Behind Gordon on the depth chart, Peyton Watson played only six minutes and sat the entire second half — not due to injury but because Malone “just wanted to go with other guys.” Watson was a minus-10 in the first half, though he also blocked Gilgeous-Alexander’s game-tying shot attempt at the buzzer when the Nuggets last faced Oklahoma City.
Even without Gordon, they fought off OKC’s defensive firepower and depth admirably Sunday until a late blitz. When the game was on the verge of slipping away in the second quarter, Christian Braun reignited the Nuggets’ engine temporarily. When they went small to start the second half and fell behind by 10, struggling to defend without fouling, they pulled themselves together with timely shots.
“When we take care of the ball,” Braun said, “we tend to get good shots.”
On the last possession of the third quarter, Jokic missed a desperate three at the shot-clock buzzer, but former Thunder legend Russell Westbrook snatched an offensive rebound and located Jamal Murray for a clutch three. Westbrook made up for inefficient shooting all day with his stabilizing presence on the offensive glass. It was 86-83 going to the fourth.
Malone varied from his usual sub pattern by playing Jokic to start the final stanza. When he tried to sneak in a quick break for his center, the game went awry. Chet Holmgren’s hand made contact with a driving Westbrook in the face, causing a turnover as Westbrook hit the deck. Holmgren would have fouled out with nine minutes left, but Westbrook didn’t get the whistle.
He remained on the floor while Holmgren cashed in a dunk at the other end. Malone picked up a technical for arguing the call, and OKC went up 10 a possession later.
“He got slapped in the face, so even if it’s an accident, I think you cannot slap him in the face,” Jokic said. “But it is what it is.”
Malone said the decision to start the fourth with Jokic was to keep Denver in the game. “I probably played him too many minutes tonight,” he said, “but I knew I had to get him out at some point.” His postgame news conference was ended after three minutes, before he could address other topics, including the no-call against Holmgren.
This was Jokic’s first look at the Thunder’s double-big lineup after newcomer Isaiah Hartenstein was injured for both games in Denver earlier this season. He was the primary defender Sunday, often single-covering, but when Jokic got deep in the paint, Holmgren was able to help over and make it difficult to get shots over both 7-footers.
Once Holmgren checked out of the game, Jokic had less trouble with Hartenstein, scoring nine of his points in the last four minutes of the first quarter. OKC also mixed and matched Holmgren with Jaylin Williams throughout the afternoon.
“I think I’ve seen everything in my life: smalls, bigs, doubles, whatever. So it’s another game for me,” Jokic said. “But definitely, they are top defense in NBA, and they’re making you work for it.”
The only missing piece was his usual 3-point touch. After taking a spill trying to back down Hartenstein, he admitted to feeling bothered by his elbow during the course of a 2-for-10 game from the 3-point line. Jokic’s teammates struggled to make jumpers, too. Michael Porter Jr. (24 points) did most of his work in the paint, attacking close-outs, cutting and even driving between Holmgren and Alex Caruso for a tough layup. Murray cooled off for the first time in a month, shooting 1 for 5 beyond the arc. He was 53% in his previous 11 games.
Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander was able to get his numbers despite his own 2-for-11 outside shooting performance. The result was both a statement of intent in the MVP race and a pointed reminder to the Nuggets that they’re no longer the Westap top dogs, until proven otherwise.
They get a chance to run it back Monday.
“I think we had opportunities,” Jokic said. “Like, I had 10 open 3s that I missed.”
