DENVER — After yet another of his jump shots clanged off the iron, this one a potential game winner at the regulation buzzer, Nikola Jokic plopped his 6-foot-11, 284-pound body into a seat on the Nuggets’ bench and unleashed a roar toward the Ball Arena rafters.
Jokic endured one of the worst offensive outings of his career in Friday’s pivotal Game 3, which he finished with 20 points on 8-of-25 shooting, missing all 10 of his 3-point attempts, and matching a playoff career high by committing eight turnovers.
Ultimately, the three-time MVP’s struggles didn’t matter. The Nuggets managed to pull out a 113-104 overtime win over the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder anyway, leaving Jokic feeling more fortunate than frustrated.
“Basically, I was the worst player on the court tonight,” said Jokic, the first player to go 0-of-10 from 3-point range and commit at least eight turnovers in any game, according to ESPN Research. “But we won the game, and that’s what’s most important.”
Jokic’s driving layup on the opening possession of overtime gave the Nuggets the lead for good. The Thunder managed to score only two points in the extra frame as the Nuggets cranked up the defensive intensity.
Oklahoma City superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the favorite to win this season’s MVP over Jokic, also had an uncharacteristically awful shooting performance. He scored 18 points on 7-of-22 shooting, including 1-of-8 in the fourth quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t get a shot attempt in overtime.
“The game gets slower, execution matters more,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “In those moments when the game slows down, it usually comes down to your best players making shots and making plays. I didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight, and I think that’s the main reason for the outcome.”
Thunder forward Jalen Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander’s sidekick, scored half of his career-playoff-high 32 points in the fourth quarter. That included a 3-pointer that put Oklahoma City ahead with 1:50 remaining in regulation and a pair of free throws the next possession that bumped the lead to three points.
But Denver closed the game with a 14-2 run, starting with power forward Aaron Gordon’s game-tying 3 with 28 seconds remaining. It’s his third game-tying or go-ahead bucket in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter during these playoffs, including the game-winning 3 in Game 1 of this series.
“AG is always ready for the moment,” Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray said.
Murray, Gordon and small forward Michael Porter Jr. — the starters remaining from the Nuggets’ 2022-23 championship team other than Jokic — all rose to the occasion to give Denver the chance to win despite the face of the franchise’s off night.
“I was frustrated, but I tried to stay in the game and do the little things,” said Jokic, who contributed 16 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks. “Those nights happen. The guys were lifting me up.”
Murray finished with 27 points, 8 assists and 4 steals, and multiple teammates cited his defensive effort as a critical component of Denver’s dominance on that end down the stretch. Gordon had 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Porter, playing despite a left shoulder injury that makes it difficult to raise that arm over his head, had 21 points and 8 rebounds. The trio combined to go 11-of-17 from 3-point range, making up for Jokic’s long-range inaccuracy.
“It’s growth. It’s big growth from our team,” Gordon said. “A lot of guys stepped up. We played well. It shows us that we are a team, and that’s how we’ve always been. We need everybody on this squad.”
Gilgeous-Alexander exited the arena eager for Saturday’s film session, an opportunity to search for solutions against a defensive scheme that didn’t give him much space to operate.
According to ESPN Research, 18 of Gilgeous-Alexander’s 22 field goal attempts were contested. He was 4-of-18 from the floor in half-court sets, including 3-of-10 when Christian Braun was the primary defender. He was 3-of-5 from the free throw line, as the Nuggets consistently kept Gilgeous-Alexander from slithering into cracks in the defense.
Gilgeous-Alexander made an effort to serve as a distributor. He had 24 potential assists — a playoff career high — but his teammates made only seven of those shots. He acknowledged that he might have forced some shots in the fourth quarter, when Williams was in a groove.
“Honestly, the way I see it is you live or die by your decisions, and tonight I died by my decisions,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It just comes with the game. I’ve been in a position and made tough shots and got a pat on the back after a game, and I’m willing to take it on the chest when I don’t make the right play or miss the right shot or whatever it is. It comes with the game. That comes with the territory.”
As Gilgeous-Alexander walked off the court after the loss, he had a wide smile on his face, which he said was a reaction to taunting from Nuggets fans.
“I don’t ever want to show them that I’m defeated or mad or anything like that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Nothing’s written. The series is not over, and we have a lot to be optimistic about. I didn’t perform the way I should down the stretch, but I have an opportunity the next game and the next game after that to make up for it.”
