In what was supposed to be their first scheduled loss of the season, the Nuggets refused to accept that label.
Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon out due to injuries. Against an undefeated opponent. An undefeated opponent that already crushed Denver at Ball Arena this season on opening night. Somehow, still, the short-handed Nuggets 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 to score 22 of his 24 points after halftime. Nikola Jokic, who’s averaging a triple-double, went for 23 points, 19 rebounds and 16 assists. Russell Westbrook sparked the comeback by growling at the crowd in the midst of his 29-point, 10-for-15 outing. Christian Braun supplied 24 points and superb defense.
And for the fourth time, the Nuggets won a game that came down to the final possession in regulation when Peyton Watson blocked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s game-tying layup attempt as time expired. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 28 points.
“Well we talked to the people at Altitude TV, and we just want to try to keep the fans glued to their seats, keep viewership up, and kind of just come back in the fourth quarter,” Michael Malone said pregame when asked about Denver having exited only one first quarter with a lead this season. “And let everybody go home with a smile on their face. We’re 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 picked up a live-ball technical foul for confronting an official about a no-call. Denver made up the gap in fewer than four minutes, a 22-6 run starting with consecutive 3-pointers from Westbrook and Braun and ending with consecutive 3s from Julian Strawther and Porter. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault called three timeouts during the quarter.
The Nuggets took Oklahoma City out of its rhythm throughout the game by trying a zone defense and sprinting after misses, desperate to avoid the Thunder’s half-court defense by scoring in transition. They also sustained a refreshing early-season trend by getting to the free-throw line for 33 attempts, led by nine tries for Westbrook — though Watson missed a crucial pair at the end to give Oklahoma City a chance.
The only player who couldn’t seem to 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 chance. During a critical sequence late in the first half, Jokic felt it was getting out of hand and bickered with officials the length of the floor while the Thunder took a 9-1 run into the break.
At that point, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was cooking. Defense didn’t matter. He twirled in mid-air for a crafty reverse layup and buried a 15-footer from behind the backboard over Braun in a matter of minutes.
But Braun gave him an outstanding battle with his defensive discipline as the night wore on. On a vital fourth-quarter possession, Braun refused to leave his feet for a barrage of ball-fakes until Gilgeous-Alexander gave up on his isolation attempt. By the time he passed it, Oklahoma City was late in the shot clock and didn’t get a clean look.
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