Overtime reverse! Murray hit 27+8, double MVP as an undercover, Jokic made 8 mistakes, Nuggets led 2-1

Editor|Lao Kankanqiu

On May 10, the second round of the 2024-25 NBA playoffs ushered in the focus of the Western Conference. The Denver Nuggets returned to their home court to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, officially kicking off the semi-finals G3. In the first two games, the Thunder team lost Jingzhou in the G1 game, and was reversed by Gordon's three-pointer, losing their first victory; in the G2 game, the Thunder learned from the pain and rebounded strongly, and played against their opponents in the first half, and finally staged a 43-point Jedi counterattack, pulling the big score to a 1-1 draw. "Whether you win 100 points or 2 points, the total score is now 1-1," Thunder star Alexander said in an interview. "In the series, the situation in each game will be different. It is possible to play smoothly or fall into a downturn. We must put aside the victory in the previous game and focus on this game!" It is worth mentioning that in the last game that beat the Nuggets, Alexander's positive and negative value was as high as +51, setting a record of the highest positive and negative value in the NBA playoffs.

As a comparison, Jokic played very uncomfortable in the last game, and had an explosion of mentality. He was called for three consecutive offensive fouls in the third quarter, leaving the game with six fouls early, losing suspense. "It's obvious that they (the Thunder) have been fouling Jokic throughout the game. This is all in front of the referee's sight, but obviously we have not received the penalty we deserve." Nuggets starter Gordon made a fuss for his teammate Jokic in an interview. "The Thunder just likes to get started. They have been fouling. This is an obvious thing!" Before the game, the US media ESPN also gave the latest winning rate prediction for today's game: the Thunder's winning rate is still as high as 64.3%, while the Nuggets' winning rate is only 35.7%. Obviously, the US media is more optimistic that the Thunder can win the first away game. In terms of starting lineup, Holmes is absent on the Nuggets, Porter Jr. is still playing with injuries. The starting five-man teams of the new coach are: Christian Braun, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic; On the Thunder, Topic is absent on the starting lineup, and the starting lineup is: Alexander, Chett, Dort, Jaylen Williams, and Haltenstein.

The first quarter started, and Jewe made a counterattack in the backcourt and sent a wonderful pass. Homegren took off and completed the gliding and the Thunder took the lead 4-0 at the beginning. Jokic forced a three-point foul, Murray scored in the middle distance after a quick stop, and the scores of both sides rose alternately. Jewe and Chet scored three-pointers in a row, and the Thunder stopped the Nuggets 16-8. Jokic made a straight pass by Gordon and was fouled for a dunk at the basket. The referee did not make any calls. Murray took a three-pointer from the top of the arc and was knocked down while hitting. The referee also did not express that the Nuggets coach showed his dissatisfaction on the sidelines. Chet changed the baseline and passed Jokic, and scored on the back of the basket. Murray shook away Dort's defense. The pull rod was difficult to respond. After the first quarter, the Nuggets were 6 points behind the Thunder 22-28. In the first quarter, Jokic played 11 minutes and 42 seconds, made only 1 of 6 shots, 0 of 2 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal; Alexander also performed poorly, 1 shot from 5 shots, 0 of 1 three-pointer, scored only 3 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

Back in the second quarter, Westbrook made an extreme steal, and made a quick attack with one-stop easily. Porter Jr. directly raised the difficulty and made a three-pointer. The Nuggets scored a 15-8 start to overtake the score. Chett received the ball continuously and completed the dunk, breaking the scoring drought. Porter Jr. faced the defensive dribble at the top of the arc and was blown away and violated the rules. Alexander still failed to make a layup after breaking through and making a cool move. He already made 1 of 6 shots. Wiggins first made a three-pointer, then took a wonderful pass from Caruso to make a layup, and the Thunder led to a 7-point lead to stop the Nuggets. Jokic passed Chett, made a layup with multiple players to make a defense and then blew up and down. Alexander missed two free throws after making a foul. Murray defended against Dort and made a high-difficulty throw shot from the board. At the end of the half, the Nuggets trailed the Thunder 51-56 by 5 points.

Half-court data, on the Thunder, Lisander made 2 of 8 shots, 0 of 2 three-pointers, 1 of 3 free throws, 5 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal; Chet made 6 of 11, 1 of 4 three-pointers, 16 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block; Jewe made 4 of 6 shots, 11 rebounds and 4 assists.

On the Nuggets, Jokic played for 18 minutes, made 2 of 9 shots, 0 of 4 of 4 of 3-pointers, scored 8 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, and made 5 mistakes; Westbrook made 2 of 5 shots, 0 of 2 of 3-pointers, 1 of 2 of 2 free throws, scored 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal; Murray made 4 of 7 shots, scored 2 of 2 free throws, scored 11 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.

It is worth mentioning that the Thunder team made 4 of 18 three-pointers in the first half, with a shooting percentage of only 22.2%; the Nuggets made 7 of 17 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of 41.2%.

The change of sides and the fight again, Alexander forced a foul but failed to make a move. The referee did not say that he had already made 3 of 10 shots, Gordon scored a three-pointer and then made another move, and the Nuggets chased to 1 point. Jokic and Gordon were blown to interfere with the ball in a row, and Porter Jr. took over the top of the arc and handed over a three-pointer and hit another shot, smoothing the gap. Westbrook cut the basket and received the pass from Jokic to deceive Dort. Unfortunately, he missed the layup. Caruso did not make a counterattack and did not make the ball in the air. Jewe made a foul and made one of two free throws. After three quarters, the Thunder led the Nuggets only 3 points.

The decisive battle in the fourth quarter, Westbrook's three-pointer scored a knife and tied the score. Jewei responded immediately with a strong three-pointer against the defensive force. Jokic and Alexander scored three-pointers and made a 1-of-4 three-pointer. Today, Jokic made 0 of 9 three-pointers and Alexander made 1-of-4. Today, the two MVPs played well and were both undercover. Alexander made a key mid-range shot, and Jokic did not make the final attack, and both sides tied 102-102 and entered overtime.

In overtime, Murray scored a sudden score of Porter Jr. and made a three-pointer. The Nuggets scored 7-0 in overtime. There was no suspense in the game. In the end, the Nuggets reversed the Thunder in overtime 113-104, leading 2-1 with a big score.. In terms of data, on the Thunder, Alexander made 7 of 22 shots, scoring 18 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals; Jewe scored 32 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists; Chet contributed 18 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks; Caruso scored 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

On the Nuggets, Jokic made 8 of 25, scoring 20 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 8 mistakes; Murray scored 27 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 2 mistakes; Porter made 5 of 6 three-pointers, 21 points, 8 rebounds; Westbrook made a contribution, scoring 8 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals, 0 mistakes.