Nuggets 105 vs 112 Thunder summary, stats, scores and highlights | NBA Playoffs Game 5
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The Thunder used a 7 minute Denver drought to even up the score and Jalen Williams hit a huge three from the corner to put OKC in the lead with under 90 seconds to go. For the second straight game the Thunder not only came back from a big deficit in the fourth quarter, they took the lead and held the Nuggets off.
The question around this team this season, and even in this series was could they grind out these playoff games against teams with much more experience? They have answered that question over the last few days and now they are a game away from returning to the Western Conference Finals.
Jokic was 4/5 from the field in the fourth quarter and had 13 points. The rest of the Denver Nuggets went 1/15 from the field and had 6 points in the final 12 minutes of the game. Jokic did everything he possible could with his 44 point 15 rebound night but it wasn't enough to pull off the win on the road.
Lu Dort came in and saved the day to start the 4th quarter. The Thunder were down 9 coming into the quarter and Dort his three threes in a matter of minutes to cut into the lead and reenergize the crown at Paycom Center. He ended the night with 12 points, all from downtown.
At 31 years old Alex Caruso is the veteran on this team. He came in off the bench and didn't just hustle plays like this offensive board. He had 13 points and came up huge down the stretch.
Murray has red hot for the first three quarters and had a couple good looks to make some big buckets late but he went cold in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets left Jokic hanging in the final 12 minutes.
Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren have been developing a strong bond in the paint for the Thunder. They didn't have much success stopping Jokic on the defensive end but they made him work on the offensive end. Hartenstein had 15 and 7 rebounds in the Game 5 win.
Jokic had an incredible game in a losing effort from OKC. He had 19 at the half and ended the night with 44 points going 17/25 while dragging down 15 rebounds. He did everything he could to pull this one off on the road, but his team went cold in the fourth quarter.
It was a complete effort from the SGA to the guys on the bench. The first five all had double digits and Jalen Williams had 18 points and 9 rebounds in the Game 5 win.
The bench play has been one of the stories of this series. Once again the the Thunder won the battle of the benches thanks to a big night from Caruso and some great play on both ends from Wallace.
This game was all about runs. Both teams exchanged long scoring runs all throughout the night and Game 5 came down to which team made the final run. Jamal Murray was incredible in another big game. He came out and dictated the pace early on.
The Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter for a second straight game to take a 3-2 lead after Game 5 from OKC. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 31 points and had the dagger late in the game to bury the Nuggets in the 112-105 win.
The Thunder went back home for Game 5 after beating the Nuggets in Denver on Sunday afternoon. They came out and immediately got their crowd into the game with an early 12-2 run to take a double digit lead in the first few minutes.
IT'S ALL OVER!!!
The Thunder hold on to take a 3-2 lead in a pivotal Game 5 from OKC!!
Williams to the line and he hits one of two.
Murray with a quick drive to the dish and lays it up and in.
Timeout Nuggets with 22 to go.
Gordon missed the three balll and SGA goes to the line where he makes both FTs with 22 to go.
SGA steps into a three ball and sinks the pull up from the top of the key!
Williams was wide open and Dort hit him in the corner for three!
Timeout Nuggets with 1:18 to go in the fourth quarter!!!
Jokic with the turn around one footed fader from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down!!!! That's one of those threes you will see for a long long time!
SGA faders at the FT line and he hits it and gets the foul on Murray! FT is good with 2:00 to go!
Jokic off the dribble and he floats it up off the glass from outside the lane.
SGA into the lane and this time he floats it up for Hartenstein for the alley oop!
Jokic with the offensive board and he tips it up and in off the Murray miss.
SGA to the bucket and he lays it up and in over Jokic.
3:00 to go in the 4th quarter!
Hartenstein follows up the miss from Holmgren and tips it up and in.
Jokic to the line after the foul on Hartenstein and he hits both FTs.
Holmgren ties it up with a lay up on the baseline off the dump down from Jay. Williams.
Timeout Nuggets with 4:36 to go in the 4th!
Jokic to the line after the foul on Jay. Williams and he hits both FTs.
Williams fouled by Braun and he his both FTs to tie this game up with 5:42 to go in the 4th!
Dort with another three ball, his third of the quarter and it's a two points game!!!
Timeout Nuggets with 6:19 to go in the 4th quarter!!
Dort it the corner and he nails the triple try over Jokic! He's got two threes in the quarter.
Murray fouled by Dort on the floater, and he hits both FTs.
Dort strings a three ball from the wing off the dish from SGA!!!
Jokic off the dribble with the off balanced runner in the lane. He's got 33 on the night!!!
Timeout OKC with 10:10 to go in the 4th quarter.
Jokic fouls Williams and he hits one of two FTs.
Westbrook to the line after the foul on Hartenstein and he hits both FTs.
Caruso to the line to start the quarter and he hits two FTs after the foul on Watson.
WE ARE HEADING TO THE FOURTH QUARTER WITH THE NUGGETS UP BY 8!!!
Westbrook ends the quarter with a buzzer beating lay in off the dump down from Strawther.
SGA pulls up from the elbow and he hits it over Strawther.
Caruso bangs home a huge three ball from the wing off the find from Wiggins!
Jokic off the dribble and he gets the tip in to go off a missed floater.
Jokic floats it up and in the lane after the pump fake at the three point line.
Caruso gets the offensive rebound and hits Holmgren cutting to the basket for the jam!
Williams with the floater on the baseline off the feed from SGA.
Holmgren fouled by Jokic and he hits one of two FTs.
Gordon nails a big three ball from the wing off the dish from Braun!
OKC need a timeout with 5:06 to go in the 3rd quarter after and 14-3 run from the Nuggets!
Murray backing down the defender from the FT line and he hits the fader from the FT line.
Jokic hands it off to Murray at the top of the key and he drills a pull up three ball! He's got 22 on the night!
Dort found some space in transition and he sinks the three from the wing!
Murray steps into a three at the top of the key and sinks it!
Jokic with another three ball from the top of the key, he's got four triples on the night!
SGA out of the timeout and right to the rack with a lay up down the right side of the lane.
SGA pulls up and hits the short jumper from in the lane.
Timeout Nuggets with 9:46 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Murray puts his head down and finishes in traffic with another contorting lay up.
SGA back to the cup and he finger rolls it home.
Murray to the rack and he puts up another incredible lay up and gets the foul! FT is good after the foul on Holmgren.
Jokic with the offensive reboundsand put back from in the lane off the miss from Gordon.
Hartenstein up top off the lob from Holmgren and he slams it down ad gets the foul! FT is good after the foul on MPJ.
Jokic opens his second half with a thre ball from the top of they key! He's got three triples.
SGA gets to the bucket and he lays it up and in off the glass.
WE ARE BACK IN OKC FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!
Jokic wasn't messing around in the first half of this game. He did a little bit of everything as always. He bullied his way to the bucket, got boards that turned into extra possessions and second chance points and even hit a couple of three ball. He's got just 3 assists but his teammates are getting into the action even without him racking up the assists.
Murray looks locked in for this massive Game 5 on the road. He's got 11 points and 2 assists although he's just 4/11 from the field. He's going to keep shooting the rock in the second half and he'll have his chances to win this game in some big moments late on.
Cason Wallace has made a huge impact over the last couple of games, He's got just four points but he's been doing it on both ends. The Thunder have 15 points off the bench while the Nuggets have just six off the bench.
Jamal Murray is at his best in big games and he's had a couple of incredible plays so far. He found Gordon slashing to the bucket for two of his 10 points in the first half.
The Thunder came out of the gate looking to get the crowd into the game and that's exactly what they did early on. Williams had 9 points in the first quarter and was looking to get his teammates involved in transition.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE SECOND QUARTER AND IT COULDN'T BE MUCH TIGHTER FROM OKC!!
Wallace to the line after the foul on Murray and he hits both FTs.
SGA with the steal and he takes it all the way for the finger roll and one! FT is good after the foul on Murray.
SGA leads Holmgren to the bucket and he dives to the bucket for the dunk!
SGA pulls up and hits the elbow jumper.
Jokic sinks his second three ball fo the night, this one from the wing off the feed from MPJ.
Hartenstein with a short jumper from outside the lane to break up a 9-0 run from Denver.
Murray fouled by Wallace and he hits both FTs.
Murray slicing down the lane and he hits the double clutch reverse.
Jokic from the top of the key and he sinks it off the feed from Gordon!
Jokic to the bucket and he lays it up and in with the left hand.
Hartenstien with a short shot in the lane and gets the jumper to go.
Gordon receives the pass down low and fights through two defenders for the lay up.
Hartenstein with the kick out to Caruso and he drills the triple try!
Timeout Nuggets with 5:07 to go in the 2nd quarter!
Westbrook posting up and he finds Braun on the baseline for the lay up.
Wiggins strings the three ball from the wing off the extra pass from Caruso!
Williams pulls up from outside the lane and he hits the mid range jumper out of the timeout.
Jokic follows his miss and he tips it up and in.
Timeout Tunder with 6:46 to go in the first half.
Jokic kicks out to Strawther and he drills the three from the top of the key!
The call stands so the Thunder get the ball but SGA missed a short jumper on the inbound.
The Nuggets are going to challenge an out of bounds play that was given to OKC under the Denver basket. 8:02 left in the first half.
SGA gets to the elbow, spins on Murray and hits the mid range jumper over the defender.
Holmgren with the spin to the bucket, gets the leaner and the foul! FT is no good after the foul on Watson.
Westbrook finds Murray at the top of the key and he strings the three ball!
Gordon on the turn around and fader in the corner and he gets the mid ranger to fall.
Wallace picks the pocket of Murray and he takes it for a transition lay up and the foul on Strawther. FT is no good.
Murray starts the quarter with a cut to the bucket and lay up off the glass of the feed from Westbrook.
WE ARE AT THE END OF THE FIRST QUARTER!!!
The Thunder got out to an early lead, but Denver came back evened the game out. It's been back and forth in the first 12 minutes. Jokic and Williams both have 9 to lead their team.
Westbrook sends Williams to the line and he hits both FTs.
Westbrook missed the three ball but Jokic was there for the tap in.
Wiliams lobs it up and Hartenstien rises up and tips in the alley oop.
Jokic muscling his way to the iron and he floats it up and in.
Westbrook turned it over and that leads to a Caruson lay up on the other end.
Murray spins in the lane and finds Watson in the corner for the three!
Williams follows up his own misses and gets the follow on the tip in.
Wiggins on the baseline drive and slides it over to Caruso in the corner for three!
Braun with another corner three, this time off the kick out from Jokic!
Williams into the paint and he floats it up and in.
Murray on the drive and lay off for Gordon who finger rolls it in down the lane.
Braun was left open in the corner and Gordon found him for three!
Braun comes up with the steal and he slips it to MPJ who pump fakes and dunks it on the break!
Timeout Thunder with 6:13 to go in the 1st quarter!
Jokic puts it head down gets to the bucket and gets the lay up and one! FT is good after the foul on Hartenstien.
Holmgren puts it on the deck and gets to the bucket for a two handed slam.
Murray taking SGA to the bucket off the dribble and gets a tough lay up to fall.
Gordon bullies his way to the bucket and lays it up and in over Williams and gets the foul! FT no good.
Jokic backing down and dumps it off to Gordon for the lay up down low.
Willams looks down low to a wide open Hartenstein for the slam under the bucket!
Timeout Nuggets with 7:57 to go in the 1st quarter.
Williams sinks a three ball in the corner off the dish from SGA and the Thunder are rolling out of the start!
SGA to the line after the foul on Porter Jr. and he hits both FTs.
Jokic follows up the Murray missed lay up with a tip in down low.
SGA gets into the paint and he open his account with a little push shot in the lane.
Holmgren starts us off with a three ball from the corner off the dish from SGA!!!
GAME 5 IS UNDERWAY FROM DENVER!!!
Jokic dealing for Denver
If the Nuggets are going to win this game, it's going to come down to this guy right here. The three time MVP of the NBA needs to be at his best tonight. That doesn't mean just scoring the ball. He needs to distribute the ball from the start and get his guys going from the field. He has not had double digit assists yet this series. That could change tonight.
PACERS MOVING ON!!!
Tip off to Game 5 is coming up in a couple of minutes but there is big news breaking in Cleveland. The Indiana Pacers are going back to the Conference Finals for a second straight year!! They beat the Cavs 4-1 after an incredible series from Haliburton and company.
One seed in trouble
The Cleveland Cavs came into tonight with their backs against the ropes needing a win, but they currently trail by 7 with 2:30 to go in the 4th quarter. The one seed could be going down in the East. The Thunder already know, just cause you are the top seed in the conference doesn't mean you are going to walk to the Finals.
Biggest night in a while
This is the biggest game in OKC since the days of Russell Westbrook, KD and James Harden days. It's been a long road back, but the Thunder fans don't just thing this team is capable of returning to the Finals. They think they can win it. It starts with tonight from Paycom Center.
Starting five: Thunder
OKC is back in front of their home crowd and they are going to try and get them into the game from the tip. It will be up to SGA, Lu Dort, J. Williams, Holmgren and Hartenstein to set the place off in the early minutes.
MVP race still on?
Neither NIkola Jokic nor SGA have made their final case for the MVP trophy. In a match up between the two favorites to win the award, both have had the stage to make a final argument. We have yet to see anyone deliver a knock out blow performance where we say, Tonight could be the night one of the two has their say, even though they say it's a regular season award.
Starting five: Nuggets
This first five got off to a historically low start last game in Denver. They scored just 8 points and two field goals in the first 12 minutes of the game, but tonight coach Adleman is going back to Murray, Braun, MPJ, Gordon and Jokic.
Road wows
Everyone assumes the momentum is back with OKC after their win in Denver on Sunday in Game 4. That may be the case but we can’t forget how much success road teams have had not just in this series but across the Conference Semifinals. Road teams are 10-3 in this round, and each team in the series has a win at home and a win on the road. The Nuggets will be hoping to continue that trend tonight from Paycom Center.
Injury report: Nuggets
The Nuggets have two names on the injury list but they have been there for a while and coach Adleman’s team has got used to winning without Hunter Tyson and DaRon Holmes II. Michael Porter Jr. has been toughing it out with a left shoulder injury that is preventing him from lifting his arm up, but has been just a shade of himself. They will need a big night from him despite carrying an injury into Game 5.
Injury report: Thunder
The Thunder have everyone who has been available for this postseason run available tonight for Game 4. The only name they have on the injury list is Nikola Topic who has been out since mid January. The Thunder aren’t just a great, young team with an MVP candidate leading them. They are deep and they use that depth to their advantage, especially against a team with a thin bench like Denver.
Battle of the benches
It’s been an Achilles heel for the Denver Nuggets ever since their title winning season a couple years ago. They let a lot of their depth walk in that offseason and haven’t replaced some of those glue guys who could come off the bench and have an impact. Last game the Thunder bench outscored the Nuggets bench 35 to 8. OKC’s bench has best the Nuggets bench in each of the four games in this series, even in the Game 3 in which Denver got blown out and had most of their bench players in for the majority of the second half. It’s not secret when Nikola Jokic is on the bench, the Nuggets have to try and hold on for dear life until he gets enough rest to check back into the game. It will be no different tonight in Game 5.
Learning on the fly
The Thunder said even before this series they wanted the Denver Nuggets. The experience and championship pedigree that the Nuggets rosters has was one of the things that the Thunder are missing coming into this postseason. OKC are a great team, but they are young and it showed in Games 1 and 3. This series, if the Thunder get through it, will be sort of a right of passage for a team who is learning how to win playoff games on the fly. We saw that growth in Game 4 when the Thunder had to battle back in the fourth quarter and hold off the Nuggets on their home floor. Tonight is another chance to not just take the lead in the series but to learn what it takes to be a championship team.
Star watch: Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came under a bit of scrutiny after the first few games of the series. Many people’s pick for MVP of the NBA this season had back to back 30 point performances in Games 1 and 2, but had just 18 in the Game 3 loss and critics started to point fingers at the league’s leading scorer as soon as the Thunder went down 2-1. He had an efficient 25 points on 8/19 shooting in Game 4 and grabbed 6 boards while dishing 6 assists. No one had a particularly good day from the field on Sunday afternoon but SGA did enough to lead his team to victory. Look for the MVP favorite to have an MVP type performance tonight in the biggest game of the season.
Star watch: Nuggets
If the Nuggets are going to win this series, it’s going to be up to their three time MVP to carry them. Sure Aaron Gordon has hit some big shots and Jamal Murray can have some huge games, but Jokic has to be playing at his MVP level for the Nuggets to win. After averaging a triple double in the regular season and in the first round series against the Clips, he is only averaging 5.3 assists a game, and that has been a big reason for the Thunder’s success. If he can come out and get his teammates involved from the start that is only going to benefit the Nuggets in this must win game.
Game 4 recap
It was just about as ugly of a first quarter as you could get in Game 4 from Denver. There were 25 total points scored between both teams in the opening 12 minutes and the Nuggets only scored 8 points all quarter. The Thunder weren’t doing much better from the field and that allowed the Nuggets to claw back into the game after hitting just 2 field goals in the first quarter. Nikola Jokic would help lift the Nuggets into the lead in the third quarter with his 27 and 13 rebounds but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept the Thunder in the game late in the fourth quarter. He had 25 points and had a couple big buckets but Cason Wallace and Andrew Wiggins came up with some clutch shots to take the lead and keep the lead in Game 4 from Ball Arena.
We are live from Paycom Center
Hello everyone and welcome to Oklahoma City where the league’s top seed coming into the postseason seem to have retaken control of the series after winning Game 4 in Denver. The Thunder found themselves in a tight game down the stretch and were able to pull out the victory against a Denver team that had used their experience to win a couple close games earlier in the series. Now the series shifts back to OKC where the Thunder only lost six games all season. Whoever wins tonight will be a game away from the Conference Finals. It’s a big game with big stakes from Paycom Center.
Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 4
We are all square at 2-2 through four games but it seems like the NBA’s top team from the regular season have al the wing in their sails. The Oklahoma City Thunder are back at home looking to take command of the series tonight against a Denver Nuggets side hoping to pull off another win on the road. It’s Game 5 from Paycom Center, and AS English will be with you all evening providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s game from OKC.