The Denver Nuggets won an incredible opening game at the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were fully rested after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 in their opening NBA Playoff round.
And up against a battle-tested Denver Nuggets team coming off a Game 7 win over the LA Clippers, OKC got an almighty shock.
Leading for most of the game, OKC could not close it out, and two late missed free throws from Chet Holmgren proved costly.
Denver Nuggets first round hero Aaron Gordon stepped up with a dagger three in the final seconds to score another late winner.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have to re-think after their loss, and a lack of rebounding was one key reason the Denver Nuggets took advantage.
Denver won the rebound battle 63-43, highlighted by the fact only one OKC Thunder player reached double figures for rebounds, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Data provided via Sofa Score shows how only two OKC players registered ratings above 8/10, SGA and the impressive Alex Caruso, who contributed a valuable 20 points.
Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren struggled to make their stamp on the game, while Isaiah Joe failed to score a single point during his 13 minutes on the court.
This game also saw the first postseason showdown in the battle of MVP contenders, with both SGA and Nikola Jokic having impactful games. Between the two – Jokic shaded it.
Three Denver Nuggets played hit double figures for rebounds, Nikola Jokic, game winner Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun.
Jokic scored 42 points and dominated with 22 rebounds. He scored two crucial three pointers, although was 2-6 overall.
The major disappointment during the game was Michael Porter Jr, whose postseason struggles continued in thew win.
Porter Jr’s performance was graded a miserly 4.9/10, after he managed to score only 2 points in 24 minutes and failed to register a single assist.
His bad shooting night saw him score 1-8 in total and 0-3 from three, also responsible for one turnover.
After scoring a valuable 15 points in the Game 7 win over the Clippers in which he was a 54.5% shooting on 6-11, Porter Jr is capable of better, and can be thankful his teammates pulled out the win.
