OKLAHOMA CITY — If the Nuggets are destined to be consumed by the best-rested team in the West, they’re at least going to resist like crazy.
Chet Holmgren missed a pair of free throws with eight seconds left, and Aaron Gordon buried a 3-pointer in the chaos that followed with 2.8 seconds remaining to steal a stunning 121-119 Game 1 win from the Thunder.
On fumes from a seven-game slugfest, the Nuggets kept gritting their teeth and hanging on for dear life, until they suddenly had a chance to complete a 14-point comeback when Nikola Jokic drained a 3, cutting the gap to 115-114 with a minute to go. He grappled for 42 points, 22 rebounds and six assists in the win. Denver was still down by nine with three minutes left.
Like it did in Game 1 against the Clippers, the ball found an open Russell Westbrook in the corner in the last 30 seconds, down by a point. The shot just didn’t fall this time. Gordon seized an outstanding offensive rebound on the baseline, but was surrounded by too many bodies to get up a clean second chance.
The Thunder intentionally fouled twice with a three-point lead, until Denver forced the ball into the young and inexperienced Holmgren.
Now the Nuggets have no choice but to keep gasping for air and rolling with Oklahoma City’s punches. Game 2 is Wednesday at Paycom Center after another measly 48-hour reset period.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the hosts with 33 points, 10 boards and eight assists. Thunder role players Alex Caruso and Lu Dort combined to make nine 3-pointers, consistently hitting the Nuggets where it hurt after the first quarter.
Caruso showed why he’s one of the best ball-hawks in the league and why trading for him was one of the most bulletproof moves of the 2024 NBA offseason. When the Nuggets were sufficiently worn out, he sensed it and calmly nabbed a reckless Murray pass. When the Nuggets were going through their usual motions, he was alert. Helping off of Westbrook to double Jokic in the post, he suddenly lurched backward into the paint, knowing Westbrook’s standard operating procedure after an entry pass was to cut.
Both steals turned into fast breaks. Caruso had three of them by halftime, and the Thunder had won his 11 minutes by 17 points. That was a team-leading plus-minus from a bench player. The other 13 minutes, Denver had won by seven.
So with Isaiah Hartenstein in foul trouble, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault replaced him with Caruso to start the second half. Caruso intercepted Murray and returned it for two on Denver’s first possession.
Westbrook made his first-ever playoff appearance in Oklahoma City as a Thunder opponent. The city’s undying love for him was apparent. Fans interrupted their own “M-V-P” chant for Gilgeous-Alexander to honor their past MVP with a standing ovation when he checked in for the first time.
Westbrook scored 18 off the bench and was a huge contributor during a gritty third quarter, when Denver shaved a 14-point deficit to five despite Jokic picking up a dangerous fourth foul — and David Adelman throwing away his challenge in an effort to overturn it.
Jokic was at war with the officials all night, as he often is. While he protested for his equal share of whistles, the home crowd also displayed some self-awareness with a tongue-in-cheek act of trolling. One point of scrutiny surrounding Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP candidacy this season was his tendency to live at the foul line while amassing an efficient 33 points per game.
So his supporters treated Jokic to a chorus of “free throw merchant” chants as he shot a pair during the second quarter, having leaned into Jaylin Williams to draw the foul.
Oklahoma City collapsed the paint on Jokic brilliantly and pressured Denver’s ball-handlers the length of the floor — as if to rub in the fact that the Nuggets had a day off before the series and the Thunder had a week.
Jokic had 20 boards after three quarters, but inevitably, he needed a breather. The margin for error was minimal already. The Nuggets were impressively hanging on by a thread. Little swings were the killers, like when Peyton Watson missed a fast-break layup and Caruso sank a corner 3 at the other end, or when Oklahoma City pieced together a miniature 7-0 run early in the fourth. Caruso and Jalen Williams got to the line a few times, and suddenly Denver was down double digits again.
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