Thunder Drop OT Thriller Versus Denver
On Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets squared off for the third time this season.
But this time Denver would be without two of their key starters, the dynamic Jamal Murray and the sharp-shooting Michael Porter, Jr. The injuries seemed to be of little importance, as Denver carved out a 19-point lead early, but in typical Thunder fashion, Oklahoma City would find a way to
The Thunder started off the opening frame quite sluggish, allowing an 11-2 Denver run before Luguentz Dort and Josh Giddey were able to answer back with a couple of catch-and-shoot triples. But multiple defensive efforts from the Thunder couldn’t shake the Nuggets’ offense.
Led by Nikola Jokic’s 14 points and three assists and his teammates’ four triples, Denver was able to build a sizeable 38-21 lead heading into the second quarter.
Oklahoma City would attempt to remedy the situation to kick off the second quarter. And after Jalen Williams made a few plays to keep the game within reach, the Thunder’s offense looked like it was finding a spark. But, for every bucket or play the Thunder seemed to make, the Nuggets provided an answer.
Late in the second, Isaiah Joe erupted from 3-point land, draining four straight 3-pointers and ultimately bringing the Thunder within five points of the Nuggets. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, somehow overshadowed by Joe, provided a steady hand via the charity stripe to fill in the cracks of the Thunder’s offense and put the finishing touches on a 42-point second quarter.
After erasing what was at one point a 19-point deficit, Oklahoma City headed into the halftime break down just 63-69.
The Thunder opened up the third frame with a continuance of 3-point shooting, knocking down four triples, two credited to Luguentz Dort, in the first three minutes to open up a 75-72 lead.
Oklahoma City’s show of resilience would continue as the Thunder kept rolling through the Nuggets’ defense. And thanks to an Aleksej Pokusevski corner triple, the Thunder would enjoy a 10-point cushion.
And after a crowd-pleasing crossover by Gilgeous-Alexander that led to Denver’s Davon Reed falling down, the Thunder would find a way to tack on three points to build a 13-point lead and head into the fourth quarter up 97-84.
Things tightened up in the fourth quarter as the Thunder’s second unit struggled to produce points and failed to defend the point of attack, allowing the Nuggets an early 11-2 run. But after the starters returned to the floor, so did the Thunder's offense.
But the Nuggets wouldn’t go quietly, as they quickly closed the Thunder’s lead to just one point late in the fourth, led by Aaron Gordon’s 17 points, before a late exchange of buckets would tie the game up 120-120 and head to overtime.
Denver opened up the overtime period with five straight points before Gilgeous-Alexander provided the Thunder’s first two points. From thereon, it seemed that nothing would go their way as the Nuggets grabbed every rebound, running precious time off the clock.
After failing to find a good shot, the Thunder’s Joe would find an improbable triple to bring his team within two, 125-127, before Bruce Brown would hit a floater to seal a Nuggets victory, 131-126.
The Thunder will have an opportunity to rest and enjoy Thanksgiving before staying home to take on the Chicago Bulls on Friday, November 25th, at 7:00 p.m. CST.
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