Who will take the blame for the Nuggets collapse in the final quarter? Jokic scored 27+13 in a spare time, and only two substitutes scored to make bitter fruit

When the beep of the timer returning to zero sounded, sighs burst out from the Denver home audience. The 87-92 freeze score on the big screen is like a thorn piercing the Nuggets fans. In the fourth leg of the Western Conference semi-finals, the team that originally had a home advantage suddenly cut off the power at the decisive moment. At the beginning of the game, the baskets of both sides seemed to have been covered, and the scoreboard in the first quarter showed a rare low score of 8-17. Jokic hard chiseled 11 points in the paint area to stop the bleeding, but when the camera swept across the bench, Watson and others' solemn expressions have already suggested a crisis. The buzzer-beating three-pointer before the end of the half missed, and Murray's move of pulling up his jersey to wipe his sweat was accurately captured by the camera. The

turned around at the fireworks moment in the third quarter. Braun and Porter Jr. fired guns continuously on the outside, and 8 three-pointers in a single quarter were like a rainstorm. When the home team entered the final quarter with a 6-point advantage, the live commentator had already begun to discuss the match point battle. However, fate always likes to joke. The Nuggets' shooter group suddenly collectively missed the seven-game iron series, which is a cruel contrast with the Thunder Youth Army's breakthrough dunk.

The most fatal moment appeared 1 minute and 47 seconds before the end of the game. Jokic barely missed the shot from the three-man double-team, and turned around and was beaten to 2+1 by Alexander. The scene of Gordon missing both free throws at the critical moment caused Coach Malone to drop the tactical board hard. When the final whistle sounded, the cheers bursting from the Thunder bench and the figure of the Nuggets hanging their heads towards the locker room formed the most distinctive victory or defeat annotation.

data will not lie. Behind Jokic's luxurious data of 27+13 is the cold reality of 1 of 5 shots from outside the three-point line. Murray's 17 points seem acceptable, but as the second leader, he only scored 2 points in the decisive moment, it is hard to blame. The most dazzling thing is the substitute scoring column. Except for Braun's 17 points, the other bench players only scored 7 points in total, which is particularly fatal compared with the Thunder's 30-point firepower output.

This defeat was like a wake-up call, revealing the fatal weakness of the defending champion. When Jokic fights in the inside, the stability and depth of the outside shooter are becoming the breakthrough for the opponent's key strikes. Going to Russia City with a score of 2-2, what the Nuggets need to solve is not only the touch problem, but also the psychological toughness test at critical moments.