Gritty series: SGA-led Thunder escape Jokic, Nuggets for crucial 2-2 series tie

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

NBA MVP candidates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic continue a nip-and-tuck war as the Oklahoma City Thunder tie up the Denver Nuggets in their best-of-7 playoff series

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from eight down in the fourth quarter to beat the Denver Nuggets 92-87 in Game 4 on Sunday to even the Western Conference semifinal series.

Oklahoma City regained home-court advantage in the best-of-seven series and will host Game 5 on Tuesday night.

Despite 27 points and 13 rebounds from Nikola Jokic, Denver missed an opportunity to put a stranglehold on the series. Christian Braun and Jamal Murray had 17 points each and Aaron Gordon finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets.

“This isn’t a funeral,” Murray said. “It’s 2-2. It’s a three-game series.”

Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace scored 11 each, Alex Caruso and Jalen Williams scored 10 apiece, Isaiah Hartenstein had 14 rebounds and Chet Holmgren grabbed 13 boards for the Thunder.

“Kind of lost our way defensively, especially in the third, but did a great job of course-correcting to start the fourth,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault. “That group to start the fourth was huge to give us a lead, and then the defense down the stretch was really, really good.”

Oklahoma City trailed 71-63 early in the fourth, but hit a trio of 3-pointers during a 14-3 run that gave them a 77-73 lead. Denver missed eight straight shots before Murray hit a 19-foot fadeaway jumper with 6:17 left.

Down 84-80, Jokic missed a pair of free throws and Williams and Gilgeous-Alexander made layups to stretch the advantage to 88-81. Jokic cut it to five with 1:25 left and the Nuggets had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Michael Porter Jr. missed an 11-footer.

Murray airballed a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left and the Thunder closed it out.

“Give their team credit,” said Nuggets interim coach David Adelman. “In a disgusting basketball game, they did enough to win.”

Sunday’s game tipped off approximately 38 hours after Denver’s Game 3 overtime win. The collective fatigue showed early when the teams combined to shoot 18.2 percent in the first quarter.

Oklahoma City led 17-8 to match the lowest combined score in the opening period of a playoff game. Portland (14) and Utah (11) did it May 20, 1999, and Detroit and Toronto also managed just 25 points on April 21, 2002.

Both teams were 3-for-22 from 3-point range in the first half. Denver found its offense in the third quarter, hitting seven of its 11 shots from deep and turning a six-point halftime deficit into a 69-63 lead heading into the fourth.

The Nuggets outscored Oklahoma City 61-40 after falling behind 23-8 early in the second quarter. – Rappler.com