Highlights: OKC at DEN
By Paris Lawson | Broadcast and Digital Reporter | okcthunder.com
BOX SCORE: OKC AT DEN
THE BIG PICTURE
After trailing by as many as 16 points, the Thunder rallied in the second half to force a crunch-time battle in Denver. OKC’s competitiveness and resilience took center stage with just eight healthy players to put pressure on the league’s reigning MVP and the Nuggets on their home court. Though the Thunder fell shy 113-107, six thunder players finished in double figures as OKC outscored the Nuggets 58-53 in the second half.
MOMENTS FROM THE 48
A Fight in the Fourth
It was a tale of two halves in the Mile High City on Saturday night. The Nuggets took control of the game early on building up a lead of as many as 16 points against The Thunder. Denver found fuel offensively getting out on the break and scoring early in the shot clock. Nikola Jokić made a jumper with just a minute left in the second quarter to give the Nuggets their largest lead of 16 points, but the Thunder responded.
After that bucket by Jokić, the Thunder put together a 15-2 run that extended from the end of the second and into the opening minutes of the third quarter. At one point, the Thunder chipped the Nuggets lead down to just two points midway through the third quarter, but Denver responded with a 14-6 run to push its lead back out to double digits.
The Thunder had just eight healthy players in its rotation after Darius Bazley left the game with a right knee sprain midway through the first half, and even still OKC refused to go down without a fight.
OKC opened up the fourth quarter on a 12-4 run, building up sizeable momentum offensively in the process. Shooting at a 57-percent clip from the field, the Thunder tied the ball game five different times throughout the final frame and even took a two-point lead with 2:45 left. The Thunder gave the Nuggets a taste of their own medicine by racking up 11 fast break points in the frame while holding the Nuggets to zero.
Denver would ultimately outlast the Thunder in the final minute of the game thanks to a 3-point play by Nikola Jokić with 24 seconds left, but the Thunder’s resilience once again took the forefront while the odds were stacked against it.
“I thought our team did a good job of executing our game plan,” said Thunder two-way rookie Lindy Waters III. “We did a fantastic job of competing, whether plays went our way or not. I felt like we just stuck together and figured it out to the end.”
High Speed Basketball
The Nuggets had their foot to the throttle in the first half of the ball game. Even on made baskets, Denver looked to score with urgency. In one example, Aleksej Pokuševski finished a layup in transition and as soon as it fell through the hoop, Jokić snagged the ball, stepped out of bounds and rifled a full court pass to Aaron Gordon for a layup on the other end of the floor.
The tables turned in the second half. OKC threw different coverages at the Nuggets throughout the next two frames forcing Denver to settle into a slower half-court offense. Meanwhile, the Thunder turned up the cadence of its offense outscoring the Nuggets 15-13 in the second half in fast break points.
“They were playing fast and that was something we wanted to fix at halftime,” said Thunder guard Théo Maledon. “I think our zone defense helped us, our communication in the second half, making sure we were matched, doing the little things, boxing out, I think that helped us doing that.”
Balanced Scoring
Down to just eight healthy bodies, going up against the league’s reining MVP on the road – it was going to take a collective effort by the Thunder to put any sort of pressure on the Nuggets. Not only did every single player score for the Thunder, but the team had six players log double figures for the night. Théo Maledon led the way with 20 points while Aleksej Pokuševski (17), Tre Mann (15), Lindy Waters III (14), Isaiah Roby (12), and Aaron Wiggins (10) all chipped in 10 or more.
The ball movement proved to be the main culprit in the balanced scoring effort by the Thunder. The team dished out 29 assists on 39 made baskets. Rookie Vit Krejčí led the way with six assists while Pokuševski added five of his own.
“The guys did a great job of balancing moving in and also being aggressive,” said Daigneault. “Sometimes you can get ball movement happy and nobody's aggressive, no one attacks, but I thought tonight we had a really nice balance of moving the ball, playing with pace and then attacking when we had our spots.”
THE LAST WORD
Théo Maledon on battling to the finish with just eight healthy players…
“It’s just even more exciting to get an opportunity to when the odds are against us to be there and come in, compete, prove ourselves. We take pride in that and I think the organization's takes pride in that overall.”
WHAT'S NEXT
The Thunder will practice on Sunday before heading to Portland to face the Trail Blazers on Monday night.