NBA playoffs: Thunder erase double-digit deficit to take 3-2 lead vs. Nuggets

Before that, the Thunder had looked stuck in quicksand against a less talented but more energetic opponent, led by a 44-point, 15-rebound night from Nikola Jokić. Now, they get a chance to end this series on the road, with a Western Conference finals against the winner of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Golden State Warriors series at stake.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s signature playoff moment

After Dort got the Thunder back in the game, it was on Gilgeous-Alexander to keep them there. OKC took its first lead since the first quarter with 3:33 remaining in the game, on a lay-up from their presumptive MVP.

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The Nuggets went on to tie the game on three straight possessions, with Gilgeous-Alexander responding every time. A Jokić layup led to a Gilgeous-Alexander-to-Isaiah Hartenstein alley-oop. A Jokić bank shot led to a Gilgeous-Alexander jumper. A preposterous Jokić 3-pointer led to a Jalen Williams 3-pointer, and then a Gilgeous-Alexander 3-pointer to put OKC up for good.

It was one of the best stretches of Gilgeous-Alexander’s career, and saw the Paycom Center crowd frequently chanting “M-V-P.”

Nikola Jokić was elite. The rest of the Nuggets, however …

If there was a game that condensed all the concerns about the Nuggets into a stretch of 48 minutes, it was this one.

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The Nuggets got an all-time great performance from their all-time great player. They got a 28-point night from Jamal Murray, albeit an inefficient one with 10-of-27 shooting and four turnovers. They got very little else.

Michael Porter Jr. was 1 of 7 for two points. Christian Braun was 3 of 12 for eight points. Russell Westbrook was 1 of 7 for four points. As a whole, the non-Jokić and Murray Nuggets shot 13 of 45. Jokić scored 44 points, with two turnovers, and lost.

It was especially bad in Denver’s fourth-quarter collapse, in which the non-Jokić players missed their first 13 shots before a garbage-time layup by Murray. They shot 1-of-15 overall, in a pivotal Game 5 and one of the greatest offensive players ever calling the shots.

We could call that an unfathomable loss, but Denver can clearly fathom it quite well given it was that kind of stuff which cost head coach Michael Malone his job. The Nuggets entered this postseason with relatively low expectations against first-year head coach David Adelman, and now they need two straight wins against a 68-14 team to keep their improbable run going.