DENVER — It’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Sunday in Game 4 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena.
The top-seeded Thunder are down 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinal series after falling 113-104 in overtime Friday night.
Here what you need to know about Game 4 of the Thunder-Nuggets series:
Thunder vs Nuggets live score updates in Game 4 of NBA Playoffs
End of third quarter: Nuggets 69, Thunder 63 | Denver builds lead
It was only a matter of time until the Nuggets started making some shots.
Denver made seven 3-pointers in the third quarter after going 3-of-22 from three in the first half.
The Nuggets outscored the Thunder 33-21 in the third quarter. While Denver started to zero in, the Thunder continued to be flummoxed by the Nuggets’ zone defense.
The Thunder is at risk of falling into a 3-1 series hole.
Denver’s first lead, of course, comes from an Aaron Gordon 3, which he had time to settle into. Nuggets 3/4 from deep to start the second half and outscoring OKC 17-10.
—Joe Mussatto, Columnist
The Thunder goes to halftime shooting an abysmal 34.0% from the floor and an even worse 13.6% from behind the arc.
And leads the game.
That’s because for as bad as Oklahoma City is shooting, Denver is shooting worse. The Nuggets are shooting 21.1% from the floor, including 13.6% from deep. After failing to get to double digits in the first quarter, they finally got there two minutes into the second quarter.
If not for a big free-throw discrepancy, the Nuggets would be in a big hole. They have shot 20 free throws, making 17, to the Thunder’s 7 of 9 from the line.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads all scorers with 15 points while Nikola Jokic and Christian Braun both have 11 for the Nuggets.
—Jenni Carlson, Columnist
It’s tradition for the fans at Ball Arena to stand until Denver scores its first points of the game.
Jalen Williams made them wait.
When Aaron Gordon tried to back down the All-Star forward with 10:50 on the clock, Williams poked the ball away for a steal. And when Michael Porter Jr. came off of a screen for a 3-pointer at the 9:35 mark, Williams chased him down for the block.
Williams and OKC forced Denver to miss its first six shot attempts of the game before Christian Braun finally ended the drought with a dunk at the 8:08 mark. The Nuggets ultimately went 2 for 22 from the field (9.1%) and 0 for 14 from deep in the first quarter.
OKC also struggled to score. The Thunder went 6 for 22 from the field (27.3%) and 1 for 11 from deep (9.1%), but it still held a 17-8 lead at the end of the quarter.
OKC and Denver tied for the fewest combined first-quarter points (25) in NBA playoff history.
—Justin Martinez, Staff writer
Maybe the worst quarter of any series across these playoffs. Nuggets are 2 for 19 (!!!). Thunder shooting 30%. Teams have combined to shoot 1 for 21 from deep. Airballs galore.
—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer
Oklahoma City’s comparative playoff experience among its roster is minimal. That much is obvious.
But what about its coaching staff?
This series marks just the fourth for Mark Daigneault’s staff, meaning his coaches are actively experiencing growing pains, too.
“We try to grow and evolve with every experience we have,” Daigneault said, “whether that’s our coaching staff, our players. But in terms of Denver’s experience, I mean, this is a great opportunity for us. We’re going against a team that has a lot of pride, they have a lot of continuity.
“The experience narrative is something that we don’t have any control over. At the end of the day, we are where we are. We’ve played the games we’ve played we haven’t played the games we haven’t played.”
—Joel Lorenzi, Staff writer
- Date: Sunday, May 11
- Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
- Where: Ball Arena in Denver
The Thunder vs Nuggets game starts at 2:30 p.m. CT Sunday from Ball Arena in Denver.
- TV: ABC
- How to watch online: Fubo (free trial)
- Radio: WWLS 98.1 FM
The Thunder vs Nuggets game will be broadcast on ABC.
Thunder vs. Nuggets playoff schedule
All times are Central Time (CT)
Thunder vs. Nuggets betting odds
Odds via BetMGM as of Saturday, May 10
Odds: Thunder by 6.5
Over/under: 227.5
Moneyline: OKC -250 | Denver +200
Justin Martinez: OKC 120, Denver 114
After losing Game 1, OKC responded well in Game 2. It cruised to a 149-106 win, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 34 points and eight assists. The Thunder will need another performance like that on Sunday with its back against the wall once again. I’m expecting Gilgeous-Alexander to rebound from his Game 3 struggles and help OKC tie this series at 2-2.
- Games: 76
- Points: 32.7 per game
- Rebounds: 5.0 per game
- Assists: 6.4 per game
- Steals: 1.7 per game
- Blocks: 1.0 per game
- Field-goal shooting: 51.9%
- 3-point shooting: 37.5%
- Free-throw shooting: 89.8%
Thunder vs. Nuggets highlights in Game 4 of Western Conference semifinals
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