Aaron Gordon offers 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists while nuggets stand out from thunder in OT.
Denver – As this game progressed in a tight first half, a third competitive, the fourth and the period of extension of grabs at the height, a very important question required an answer:
What team would unfloue their MVP KIA candidate?
Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are two finalists for the prize, whose winner could be revealed next week, but both had trouble in match 3 of their western semi-final which was the subject on Friday.
And in an even more improbable scenario, it is the Denver Nuggets – which collapse regularly each time Jokić is either on the bench or a failure – which overcome the thunder of Oklahoma City deeper when it counted.
Consequently, the best of the seven has a leader, and these are the Nuggets, up 2-1 with the match 4 (Sun, 3:30 HE on ABC) also in Ball Arena, after a decision of 113-104. They overwhelmed thunder in the additional period, marking 11 of the 13 points in total due to a role reversal – it was Jokić’s teammates who picked him up instead of vice versa.
“It was so close, we just had to hang on,” said Michael Porter Jr. Nuggets “once we got it, we knew we had the momentum.”
Here are five points to remember from the victory of the best classified Nuggets and Thunder, which won 68 games this season and swept the first round, facing adversity for the first time in 2025:
1. Jokić lost his rhythm, never found it
He can plead to be the best player in the last half-decade league, or more. And it is a triple MVP of Kia. That’s why it seems so weird? – When Jokić seems to shake as he did, not only on Friday, but also the match 2.
It may be just a phase, a temporary blip. Be that as it may, nuggets cannot expect to assume a more important lead in this series or even win another match unless Jokić takes this fate.
They were lucky on Friday. Gilgeous-Alexander was just as cold and the nuggets made all the big games in the section. Can they count on this again if Jokić is simply ordinary?
He missed his 10 3s and obviously lost confidence because he started to go likely. After his last round at the fourth trimester buzzer, he went to the bench and shouted frustration.
But, there was more – he also had eight reversals (including a flagrant double dribble) and missed a few rabbit strokes. It was not pretty. It was not Jokić.
“20, 16 and six,” said the acting coach of Nuggets, David Adelman, citing Joker’s statistics, then impassive, “just a terrible NBA night.”
Make it a terrible Jokić night, according to his crazy standards we expect. There is a difference. After scoring 42 epic points in match 1, he combined for 37 the next two.
His coach has the solution.
“Continue to shoot the ball,” said Adelman.
2. Murray is money
Jamal Murray was the best Canadian baller on the ground, which was rich since he shared him with another member of the national team who could well win MVP.
Murray, with Christian Braun, was one of the main defenders of Gilgeous-Alexander, and what made his role more impressive is the version. Murray burned 48 minutes and had enough energy to compensate for the problems of Jokić offensively, and also to strip Jalen Williams in OT for a staging that put Denver to seven.
Murray finished with 27 points, eight assists, four interceptions and just a pair of reversals while recording all these minutes. But he had the company …
3. Aaron Gordon deserves another “A” in his name
The biggest shooting of the night belonged to who else, the same player with a winning dunk and a pointer of 3 points in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon is the answer.
And yes, with OKC at the top of three points and 28 seconds to play in settlement, the ball belonged to him, not Jokić, not even Murray, who has a story of big shots in the playoffs. Gordon sank the corner 3 to force OT and join Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson as the most embedded players this spring.
In fact, Gordon managed to play after the game throughout Friday, not just the last minute. Whenever the nuggets struggled, it has passed, either with a basket or a rebound in traffic or a defensive stop. His line: 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists.
“In these playoffs, AG was incredible,” said Porter. “We are not winning three games without doing these blows.”
Murray said: “He’s always ready. You dream of it and when the moment has just done so, you are ready for that.”
Play of the Day: Aaron Gordon drains a late pointer to finally send the game to overtime.
4. Shai has narrowed the section
It was something that has rarely seen and can no longer be observed for a while. The heart and drunk of the Thunder who thrive on efficiency have simply collapsed in the fourth quarter and extension.
Shai missed seven of his eight fourth shots. He couldn’t even try one in OT. This, of the top scorer in the league, who simply could not be stopped head-to-head throughout 2024-25.
In this fourth cold quarter, rather than continuing to feed Williams – by far the most impactful player for OKC all night, who scored 16 points in the quarter – Shai continued to shoot. And most of these photos, including the last for OKC, were disputed, with Braun applying a solid defense. It may be instinctive for Shai, or maybe his ego told him that the next blow would fall. Well, this is not the case.
Shai had problems with space creation with his forearm, which is his signature movement. Nuggets are also creative and hesitant to launch the double team, and this strategy worked on Friday.
And the nuggets were also smarter: Shai took only five free throws because Braun did not fall mainly for the counterfeits and the meager that Shai uses to draw the contact.
“Nothing is written,” said Shai. “The series is not over. I have an opportunity the next game and the game after that to compensate. I am optimistic and we have a lot to be optimistic.”
Adelman also suspects that something happens:
“He will be great in match 4.”
5. Jalen Williams made Denver concern
He had the nuggets on their heels all night, worried about his sweater-up, his dribbling game, his ability to attack and reach the edge.
It was not Shai, however. Williams was the problem, attacking and constantly forcing nuggets to rethink their strategy of double Shai.
He ended with 32 points, his career in the playoff series and alone kept OKC in the fight in the fourth quarter. Before that, Chet Holmgren was the attacker. He finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks and, with Isaiah Hartenstein, made the joker struggle.
But Holmgren finished a bit like the Thunder – he had only two points in the fourth quarter and OT. And now OKC is suddenly pressed for a victory to prevent this series, and perhaps the season, from taking a seriously difficult turn.
If the nuggets win Sunday and go up 3-1… what then?
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Shaun Powell covered the NBA for over 25 years. You can send him an email Here, find his archives here and follow it X.
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