Sometimes, a great player just makes great plays.
That’s what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, helping an injured Oklahoma City Thunder squad stave off a desperate Denver Nuggets squad with unbelievable shotmaking down the stretch. The Nuggets threw everything they had at SGA, and he tore them apart. Then, he hit the game-winning sidestep three with 2.6 seconds left to go to help the Thunder win 129-126 over Denver.
For the Nuggets, this was a heartbreaker, a moment they will remember for a while in a game they went all out to win. Aaron Gordon played 28 minutes in his second game back from injury and had an exceptional first quarter before slowly down dramatically. Nikola Jokic was absolutely fantastic down the stretch, putting the Nuggets on his back in key moments and hitting clutch threes. Tim Hardaway Jr. shot an absurd 8-of-12 from three for 28 points off the bench.
And yet the Thunder, without Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso, still delivered a win. SGA led the way with 35 points, 15 assists, 9 rebounds, and zero turnovers, shooting 14-of-21 from the field and attempting just four free throws. It was effectively a perfect game, and the Nuggets couldn’t do anything about it.
Christian Braun had success against SGA in the previous matchup defensively, but SGA “busted my ass” tonight in his own words postgame. When the Nuggets let Braun guard him 1-on-1, SGA made shots. When the Nuggets sent a double, SGA either navigated away from the help and made a shot or more frequently set up a teammate consistently. 15 assists compared to zero turnovers when he was the focal point of the Nuggets game plan is an absolute evisceration of whatever game plan the Nuggets had for the MVP.
SGA’s teammate, Jaylin Williams, started in place of Hartenstein at center and had a very impressive night, shooting 7-of-11 from three en route to 29 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists. Off the bench, Ajay Mitchell returned from injury for the first time since January and immediately had 24 points off the bench. The Thunder simply have an embarrassment of riches on their roster. The newly acquired Jared McCain from the Philadelphia 76ers even had 13 points off the bench and was +19 in his minutes.
For the Nuggets, yes there were some injuries they had to navigate, but everyone outside of Peyton Watson played in the regular rotation. Jamal Murray was merely okay with 21 points on 23 shots to go with 8 rebounds and 6 assists. There was fear Murray’s ankle injury from last Friday would hold him out for longer, but Murray was +5 in 37 minutes tonight.
Where Denver lost this game statistically was in the bench minutes. Jonas Valanciunas played only the first half and was -8 in his six minutes. Bruce Brown was -15 in his 16 minutes. Every starter outside of Braun was a positive plus-minus tonight, but the stretches in the first and second quarter that took an early double-digit lead in the first quarter to a double-digit deficit in the second quarter eliminated Denver’s advantage so, so quickly. It was very similar to the matchup just over a week ago.
What’s concerning in this matchup is how few answers the Nuggets have for SGA, who is making a credible challenge to Jokic’s best player in the world title. Jokic, for what it’s worth, was fantastic offensively tonight with 32 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists compared to just 3 turnovers, shooting 12-of-19 from the field and 3-of-6 from three. Jokic willed the Nuggets back into this game, even starting the fourth quarter after playing all 12 third quarter minutes as the Nuggets fought hard to win this game.
And yet, the Thunder still had answers despite missing three starters and a key reserve. In theory, they will continue to improve in a playoff environment as they have so many options to deploy at strategic times. Whether they need more size, more shooting, more athleticism, more ball handling, or more defense around SGA, the Thunder can go in any direction they choose. So far this season, the Nuggets haven’t done anything significant to waylay that belief.
The Nuggets will always be rolling a boulder uphill when facing the Thunder. Their floor is so high, while the Nuggets’ floor, as evidenced by the last two seasons, remains lower than one might like. Denver’s defensive answers in this matchup are subpar, and both Jokic and Murray will always be targets for the Thunder to exploit. It doesn’t mean that Denver can’t win this series, but they’re going to have to be extremely tactical, physical, make clutch shots, and get a little more lucky.
For now, Denver’s season moves onward. They will face the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at home before traveling to Texas and facing the San Antonio Spurs on a back-to-back on Thursday.
Here’s hoping the Nuggets can close a game against one of those teams.
SGA hits game-winner, Denver Nuggets fall to Oklahoma City Thunder in clutch again Mile High Sports.
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