Thunder overcome Nikola Jokics huge night to grab…
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 factors, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 112-105 on Tuesday night to go up 3-2 in their Western Conference semifinal sequence.
Oklahoma City overcame a 44-point, 15-rebound night from Denver’s Nikola Jokić.
The Thunder can clinch the sequence on Thursday in Denver.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 23 area objectives and bounced back from a gradual begin to lead six gamers in double figures.
“What the great players do is they rise in the face of those challenges and adversities,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault stated. “And I just thought he got more and more composed as the game went on. And despite the fact that the pressure was mounting and it got hotter in there, he got cooler and just kind of settled into it, made the right plays, let the game tell him what to do.”
Jokić made 17 of 25 pictures.
Denver’s Jamal Murray scored 28 factors, but he made just 10 of 27 pictures.
No different Denver participant scored more than 13 factors.
“This is a really disappointing loss,” Denver interim coach David Adelman stated. “The guys in there should be disappointed. It’s a heavy loss and we have to bounce back quickly to win Game 6 and give ourselves a chance to come back, have a game like this, but finish it.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 31 factors, drives previous Nikola Jokić during the Thunder’s 112-105 Game 5 win over the Nuggets on May 13, 2025. AP
Oklahoma City ran out to a 12-2 lead, and it appeared prefer it may end up just like the Thunder’s blowout victory in Game 2.
Denver made one of its first 9 pictures, and that was a putback by Jokić.
Denver rallied and led by 11 in the second quarter, but Oklahoma City closed robust and trailed 56-54 at halftime.
Jokić had 19 factors and 9 rebounds before the break.
Nikola Jokić, who scored 44 factors and grabbed 15 rebounds, drives on Jaylin Williams during the Nuggets’ Game 5 loss to the Thunder. Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
Murray scored 13 factors in the third quarter and Jokić added 12 to help the Nuggets take an 86-78 lead into the fourth.
Still, there have been missed alternatives.
“It felt like every time we had a chance to go back up 12, or get it back at 14, we wouldn’t make the shot and they’d run out and make a basket or score in transition,” Adelman stated. “So it compounded itself.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander goes up for a layup previous Jamal Murray (proper) as Christian Braun (below) seems to be on during the Thunder’s Game 5 win over the Nuggets. AP
Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort, who scored three whole factors in the first three quarters, hit a trio of 3-pointers in a two-minute span to cut Denver’s lead to 92-90 halfway through the fourth.
Jokić hit a deep fadeaway 3-pointer to tie the sport at 103 before Oklahoma City closed it out.
Jalen Williams’ 3-pointer with 1:18 remaining gave the Thunder a 106-103 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander’s three with 48 seconds to go pushed Oklahoma City’s lead to six.
“I thought we executed as well as we have in the playoffs down the stretch in a close game,” Daigneault stated.
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