The Denver Nuggets and OKC Thunder had an instant rematch to their Sunday night thriller which saw the No. 1 seeded Thunder defeat the Nuggets 127-103. The rematch saw OKC score 127 points again, but the Nuggets improved their total by 37 points to hand the Thunder a comprehensive loss at the Paycom Center in OKC tonight.
Nikola Jokic had an MVP-caliber game with 35 points (15-20 FG), 15 rebounds, and eight assists, completely dominating OKC. Jamal Murray had 34 points (11-22 FG) and six assists while Michael Porter Jr. had 17 points (7-12 FG) and six rebounds. Russell Westbrook had a respectable 16 points (6-10 FG), five rebounds, and seven assists, while Christian Braun put up 14 points (4-11 FG), five rebounds, and five assists.
Lu Dort led OKC in scoring with 26 points (9-16 FG), seven rebounds, and four steals, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 25 points (8-14 FG) and seven assists. Isaiah Hartenstein put up 20 points (8-16 FG) and seven rebounds. Jalen Williams left the game with a hip injury after putting up 12 points (5-10 FG) and six assists.
Let’s take a deeper look at the major takeaways of this contenders clash.
Nikola Jokic Keeps The MVP Race Alive
Everyone who tuned into this game wanted to watch the two leading contenders for the MVP award lock horns on back-to-back nights. Despite Jokic’s historic stat line, the last game went in favor of Shai and OKC, prompting many to start declaring this season’s MVP race in his favor. However, what Jokic did tonight will reinvigorate those conversations.
Jokic and Shai are 2-2 this season in regular-season matchups. Jokic has averaged 24.5 points, 15.8 rebounds, and 11.5 assists in these games while Shai has put up 30.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.Â
The overall MVP race is fascinating as Shai is the NBA’s leading scorer on the best West team, averaging 32.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. Jokic is putting up the best numbers of his career, averaging 28.9 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 10.5 assists this season.
Both players are deserving MVP candidates, but Shai’s recent emergence and status as the No. 1 seed has him as the favorite over Jokic. If Jokic does win, he’ll be the first player since LeBron James to win four MVPs in five seasons.
Red-Hot Offense By Denver
The Denver Nuggets had arguably their best offensive game of the season in tonight’s win, shooting 52-86 (60.5 FG%) from the field and 18-32 (56.3 3P%) from three. OKC went from being one of the best defenses in the NBA to being absolutely helpless tonight, as Jokic expertly read the floor to maximize his teammates while players like Jamal Murray were already having a hot night.
The Thunder tried their best to keep up but that was a nearly impossible task given how proficient the Nuggets were in scoring the ball. The Thunder went 47-100 (47.0 FG%) on 14 more shot attempts than Denver, going a solid 19-47 (40.4 3P%) from three but still being well short of what Denver was doing.
Despite OKC getting more steals (9-6), blocks (6-5), offensive rebounds (12-9), and forcing more turnovers (10-12), they just couldn’t get enough production to make up for the hellaciously efficient Nuggets offense.
Jalen Williams Injury Changed The Game
There are no excuses when a loss takes place, especially when it’s a clash between top-tier contenders. However, the Thunder have a very real silver lining to this loss, as they weren’t at their best after the second quarter due to the loss of Jalen Williams to a hip injury.
Williams is a key contributor for OKC as a player who seamlessly plays three different positions regularly while also being an option as a small-ball center. He was a +8 on the game and left with injury when the Thunder enjoyed a six-point lead, which would get annihilated as the game went on. Players like Shai were a -18 in the game, so Williams could’ve been a winning difference-maker on his own tonight.
The Thunder will hope that Williams returns to the court soon as the team enters the final stretch of the season before the Playoffs. While players will likely get rested, OKC will be keenly checking up on Williams’ progress before the end of the regular season.
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