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TIM MACMAHON
Oklahoma City-As Shai Gilgeous-Aalexander put its nuances of creators and headed for the interview room, the shock had been installed since the collapse of its Oklahoma City Thunder team in the last minutes of their first match in the semi-final series of the Western Conference.
The Denver Nuggets gathered from a second half-time deficit of 14 points to put the head of the West to a home defeat of 121-119 in match 1 on Monday. Oklahoma City committed a series of blunders to become the first team in a decade to lose a eliminatory match which she led by at least nine points in the last minutes.
The silver lining to blow up a serial opener at home, according to Gilgeous-Alexander, is that a team of Oklahoma City who reached a better league of 68 regular season victories can see how it can manage adversity.
“It should be fun,” said Gilgeous-Alexander after the first Thunder’s defeat in this series. “We are going to discover what we are made of, which we are really done. No one expected what it is gently navigation of all this trip. No trip to life, and we know it. Today is a bump on the road – unexpected. Nobody expects to lose, especially in this way, but that is the game of life. So, it is the way you react.”
Denver has ahead of Oklahoma City 19-6 after Gilgeous-Alexander of 3 points with 4:31 on the left extended the two-digit Thunder’s advance for the last time. The Nikola Jokic Nuggets center scored 11 of his 42 game game points to keep Denver at a striking distance.
The Gilgeous-Alexander dunk with 11 seconds to play, the final of his 33 points, was the only basket in the Thunder in the last three minutes.
“I can do a better job to organize and get quality looks,” said Thunder’s coach Mark Daigneault. “Then, at the bottom of the other end, I thought that some of the faults that put them into play without using a clock obviously helped them. So it was the two ends, it was everyone. We are all in it. We need to execute better. I needed to train better. They had to better execute the plan, and we just have to be a better team in the match.”
The strategy of fouling the Thunder while protecting a three -point lead in the last 15 seconds turned against him. Alex Caruso of Oklahoma City has twice took rapid faults – burning a total of 1.9 seconds after a pair of free gilgeous -Alexander throws and its dunk – allowing Denver to extend the game.
“I could probably run a little more from time to time, and I probably need to do a better job,” said Caruso, who has experienced a differently exceptional performance with 20 points, 6 assists, 5 interceptions and 2 blocks. “This is probably what I’m going to fight the most with this last scenario. But you don’t want to be in this position. … The game has not been won and lost in the last 15 seconds. We have had a lot of opportunities before winning the match.”
Oklahoma City also had the chance to at least secure that she would not lose in the regulations when the great man Chet Holmgren went to the line with 9.1 seconds. But he missed the two free throws, leaving the door wide open to the Nuggets to claim their first advance since the first quarter.
A few seconds later, Aaron Gordon de Denver pierced a step above rupture 3 of transitional aid of Russell Westbrook. A three -quarter court which raised by Jalen Williams of Oklahoma City was wandering, triggering a wild celebration by the nuggets in front of a closed windows at the Paycc Center.
“These are the playoffs. We have to kiss him,” said Daigneault. “We have to kiss the fight for the playoffs. We have to embrace the adversity of the playoffs. The playoffs are a mountain to climb, so it will not be easier for anyone.”
