It’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs on Friday night at Ball Arena.
This Western Conference semifinal is tied 1-1 after Aaron Gordon’s late 3-pointer stunned OKC in Game 1 and SGA’s near-perfect outing in a Game 2 beatdown of Denver.
Here what you need to know about the Game 3 of the Thunder-Nuggets series:
Thunder vs Nuggets live score updates in Game 3 of NBA Playoffs
The Nuggets are looking for answers on defense, throwing a decent amount of zone at the Thunder.
But as it turns out, Denver is going to have to look for answers for Oklahoma City’s defense, too. The Thunder has been tough, as always, on defense, coming up with three steals and three blocks and forcing the Nuggets into seven turnovers.
But here may be the most amazing defensive stat: The Thunder hasn’t allowed the Nuggets a single offensive rebound.
The Thunder has been led by Chet Holmgren, who has a team-high 16 points. As good as he was in Game 2, the Thunder big man has been even better in Game 3, adding seven rebounds and one block to his totals.
But even as the Thunder takes a five-point lead into halftime, it does so without much scoring impact from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He only has five points in the first half.
Fellow MVP candidate Nikola Jokic has managed only eight points.
The Nuggets are led by Michael Porter Jr., who has 15 points. After going 3 of 18 from floor in the first two games combined, he is 5 of 6.
—Jenni Carlson, Columnist
It’s 56-51 Thunder at half. Kept things stable despite losing the non-Jokic minutes. Joker is 1/6 on non-paint shots. SGA, 2 for 8, ain’t shooting so hot either. Denver shooting 41.2% from 3 (OKC is 22.2%) but this is staggering: board count is 29-20 Thunder, with 9 OREB to DEN’s 0.
—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer
Michael Porter Jr. hit the breaks, causing his sneakers to screech as they slid across the Ball Arena floor.
The Denver forward wasn’t expecting a drive as he closed out on Lu Dort in the corner, but that’s exactly what happened.
Dort dribbled past the off-balanced Porter with a burst of speed. He then dished it off to Isaiah Hartenstein, who sank his trusty push shot from inside 10 feet.
On a night when Denver began the game with a zone defense, OKC broke it with ease. The Thunder attacked the rim at will and racked up 14 points in the paint during the first quarter alone.
Chet Holmgren led the way with 11 points and six rebounds. Jalen Williams added five points and four assists.
—Justin Martinez, Staff writer
The narrative shifted underneath Oklahoma City overnight. The team that was among the league leaders in fouls committed and among the league’s worst in free throw rate has been deemed by many as having been too physical. Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon said Wednesday that the Thunder is “fouling. Point blank, period.” Asked if he was bracing for a shift in what Friday’s crew allowed physically, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault attempted to take air out of the narrative. “I know that’s been a story to this point, and teams use the media to try to gain an edge in the playoffs,” he said. “But the way we’re looking at it is these are the best officials in the league. If they’re influenced by that, then there’s a problem. They shouldn’t be working the game. We trust that they’re going to go out there call the game fairly and consistently.“
—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer
David Adelman was asked how he prepares his screeners for the way Lu Dort draws fouls: “I mean, there’s a lot of guys that are foul artists on both ends. I’m not concerned about if he’s gonna get one a game or whatever it is. You just hope that if they’re calling that, maybe they’ll take a look at how he’s guarding them all. There’s two sides to that. There’s the illegal screen part of it, and there’s the holding, grabbing part of it.”
—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer
When you’re nicknamed Joker, you might as well dress the part.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic arrived at Ball Arena looking like Heath Ledger in the 2008 classic film, “The Dark Knight.”
What time is Thunder vs Nuggets NBA game tonight?
- Date: Friday, May 9
- Time: 9 p.m. CT
- Where: Ball Arena in Denver
The Thunder vs. Nuggets game starts at 9 p.m. CT Friday from Ball Arena in Denver.
What channel is Thunder vs Nuggets on tonight in NBA Playoffs?
Game 3 of the Thunder-Nuggets series will be broadcast on ESPN. It can be streamed on ESPN+.
Best-of-seven series. All times are Central Time (CT)
Thunder vs. Nuggets betting odds
Odds via BetMGM as of Thursday, May 8
Odds: Thunder by 4.5
Over/under: 233.5
Moneyline: OKC -210 | Denver +170
Thunder vs. Nuggets prediction, picks
Justin Martinez: OKC 120, Denver 115
Aside from the closing minutes of Game 1, OKC has been the better team throughout this series. The Thunder’s defense has shined, forcing and average of 19.5 turnovers and converting them into an average of 28.5 points. It has also made life difficult for Nikola Jokic by throwing defenders such as Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams at him. And on offense, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to cause problems for a Denver defense that lacks an elite point-of-attack defender. Winning on the road won’t be easy, but I’m picking OKC come out on top in a close one.
Thunder vs. Nuggets highlights in Game 3 of Western Conference semifinals
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