In what was supposed to be their first scheduled loss of the season, the Nuggets refused to accept that mark.
Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon out with injuries. Against an undefeated opponent. An undefeated opponent that already crushed Denver at the Ball Arena this season on opening night. Somehow, the short-handed Nuggets still roared back from down 16 in the second half to hand Oklahoma City its first loss of the season, 124-122.
Michael Porter Jr. overcame a 1-for-6 first half from the floor and scored 22 of his 24 points after halftime. Nikola Jokic, who is averaging a triple-double, had 23 points, 19 rebounds and 16 assists. Russell Westbrook sparked the comeback by growling at the crowd in the middle of his 29-point, 10-for-15 outing. Christian Braun delivered 24 points and excellent defense.
And for the fourth time, the Nuggets won a game that came down to the final possession of regulation when Peyton Watson blocked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s layup attempt as time expired. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points.
“We talked to the people at Altitude TV, and we just want to try to keep the fans glued to their seats, keep the ratings up and kind of just come back in the fourth quarter,” Michael Malone said pregame when asked if Denver is just out of a first quarter with a lead this season. “And let everyone go home with a smile on their face. We are entertainers, after all.”
For the fifth time in their first eight games, the Nuggets (5-3) erased a deficit of 14 or more points to at least lead in the fourth quarter. The worst it got was 81-65 this time, at the 7:31 mark of the third quarter, moments after Malone received a live-ball technical foul for confronting an official about a no-call. Denver closed the gap in less than four minutes, a 22-6 run that started with back-to-back 3-pointers from Westbrook and Braun and ended with back-to-back 3s from Julian Strawther and Porter. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault called three timeouts in the quarter.
The Nuggets took Oklahoma City out of rhythm throughout the game by trying a zone defense and sprinting for misses, desperate to avoid the Thunder’s half-court defense by scoring in transition. They also maintained a refreshing early-season trend by getting to the free-throw line for 33 attempts, led by nine for Westbrook — though Watson missed a crucial pair late on to give Oklahoma City a chance.
The only player who couldn’t get a call was Jokic. Chet Holmgren waged a war against him in the paint. Help defenders scratched and clawed. Oklahoma City’s guards tried to slide into position to take a charge against him at every opportunity. During a critical sequence late in the first half, Jokic sensed it was getting out of hand and argued with officials along the floor as the Thunder took a 9-1 run into halftime.
At the time, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was cooking. The defense didn’t matter. He spun in the air for a crafty reverse layup and buried a 15-footer behind the backboard over Braun in minutes.
But Braun gave him an outstanding fight with his defensive discipline as the night wore on. On a crucial fourth quarter possession, Braun refused to leave his feet for a barrage of ball fakes until Gilgeous-Alexander gave up his isolation attempt. When he passed it, Oklahoma City was late in the shot clock and didn’t look clean.
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