1-1 draw! Thunder set a record, Jokic made 5 mistakes, Westbrook tried his best, and the Nuggets lost 48 points

Editor|Lao Kankanqiu

On May 8, the second round of the NBA 2024-25 playoffs ushered in the focus of the Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder continued to sit at home, facing the Denver Nuggets, and kicked off the second game in the semi-finals. The G1 Thunder team lost Jingzhou in the first game and suffered a 14-point comeback, and fell behind the Nuggets 0-1 with a big score, which is a bit surprising. However, the reason why the Thunder achieved the best record in the league this season is due to their tenacity and resilience. In the regular season, the Thunder only suffered two consecutive losses and did not lose more than 2 games. Although the reversal of G1 is a blow to the team's morale, especially when he leads a big score and is finally defeated, the gap in strength is obviously the greatest confidence of this Thunder.

" Obviously, we must respond!" Thunder boss Alexander said in an interview with the media: "We can do nothing about what has happened (G1 was reversed), but we all know that we have a chance only if we perform better in the next game, which is also the thing we are most concerned about at the moment!" 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 65.7%, while the Nuggets' winning rate rose to 34.3% (compared to G1, only 24.6%). It is obvious that the US media is still optimistic that the Thunder can win G2 and rewrite the big score to a 1-1 draw. In terms of starting lineup, Holmes is absent on the Nuggets, Porter Jr. plays with injury. 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 continues to be absent on the starting lineup, and the starting lineup is: Alexander, Chett, Dort, Jaylen Williams, and Haltenstein.

started the first quarter, Murray broke through and attracted double teams and sent an assist, Gordon received the ball from the bottom corner and hit the Nuggets' first three-pointer. Homegren faced Jokic's three-pointer and fell, and Jewe scored 4 points in a row with a break and free throw. The Thunder led the Nuggets 18-9 at the beginning. Jokic missed the basket after playing for a row. After Harten made a throw, the Thunder scored 10-0 in the inside and led the opponent, and the gap had widened to double digits. Jokic hit Jewe with a misplaced free throw line and finally scored his first goal. He has only scored 2 points in 1 of 4 shots. After Alexander made a foul and made two free throws, he made another jump shot from the middle distance. Homegren counterattacked and scored 2+1, Dort pursued a three-pointer and made another shot. The Thunder widened the gap to 20 points, stopping the Nuggets again. After Jokic caused a foul, Jarin pushed and shoved. Westbrook stood up for Jokic and took the skilled foul. Then he received the ball from the bottom corner and made a steadily. After coming on the bench, he scored 5 points in a row to stabilize the situation. Dort counterattacked and scored again. At the end of the Thunder quarter, he scored 20-5 and led the Nuggets 45-21 in the first quarter by 24 points. In the first quarter, the Thunder team made a total of 15 of 21 shots, with a shooting percentage of up to 71.4%, 5 of 9 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of 56%; the Nuggets team made 7 of 20 shots, with a shooting percentage of only 35%, and 2 of 10 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of up to 20%. In addition, Westbrook played for 5 minutes, made all three shots, made 1 of 1 three-pointer, scored 7 points and 1 assist, and the whole team pointed to Westbrook to chase points.

Back in the second quarter, Westbrook broke through and assisted Jordan Jr. to receive a dunk. Then Gordon made a strong three-pointer and made a difficult three-pointer, and the Nuggets narrowed the gap to 21 points. Westbrook was called for an offensive foul at the basket, and Wallace made two consecutive three-pointers, and the gap instantly widened to 27 points. Jokic assisted Murray to hit a three-pointer in the corner, and then a long pass assisted Westbrook to pull up the layup again. The Nuggets struggled to bite the gap. Wiggins stole Jokic and quickly made a dunk with both hands. Alexander also made a strong three-pointer. The Thunder played more and more smoothly, and he had already led to 30 points.

Jokic hit a three-pointer against Harten, and then made a single shot with Harten and made a difficult mid-range shot, chasing 5 points in a row. Harten responded immediately after making a final tip-in. Braun made consecutive mistakes. Jewe made counterattacks and completed the dunk again. The difference reached 35 points. The Nuggets had no choice but to call another timeout. After Westbrook's breakthrough caused a foul, he was dissatisfied with Harten's additional actions, and the conflict broke out, and Harten received a technical foul. Homegren made a buzzer-beating move and caused another foul. At the end of the half, the Thunder led the Nuggets 31 points 87-56.

Half-time data, on the Thunder, Alexander made 6 of 8 in halftime, 1 of 2 in three-pointers and 18 points, 2 rebounds and 7 assists; Harten made 5 of 5, scored 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal; in addition, 6 players in the Thunder scored in double digits in the first half, which was too terrifying.

It is worth mentioning that the Thunder scored 87 points in the first half, setting a record high in any half-time scoring in NBA playoff history.

On the Nuggets, Jokic made 5 of 12 shots, made 2 of 4 three-pointers, scored 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal; Westbrook made 4 of 9 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, 6 of 6 free throws, scored 15 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists, really trying his best; Murray made 2 of 3 three-pointers, scored 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block; Gordon made 3 of 6 shots, scored 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block.

The change of sides and the fight again, Jokic knocked down Dort and was called for an offensive foul. Then Braun was called for a cover foul. Alexander seized the opportunity to score continuously, and the Thunder led the game to the maximum score difference of 39 points. Jokic pushed Homegren down while grabbing the rebound and was called for a foul again. He has fouled four times on his back. This game has really gone far. Jokic knocked Dorte while covering, was called a cover foul, and left the court early with 6 fouls. Isaiah Joe made another three-pointer in the corner, and the score difference widened to 48 points.

The fourth quarter was directly reduced to substitute time. In the end, the Thunder won a refreshing victory, with a big score of 1-1, and the Nuggets suffered a big defeat! In terms of data, on the Thunder, Alexander made 11 of 13 shots, scored 34 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, plus or negative values ​​+51, setting a record high in the playoffs; Homegren contributed 15 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks; Dort scored 12 points, 1 steal and 1 block.

On the Nuggets, Jokic made 6 of 16, scoring 17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 6 turnovers, 6 fouls, plus or negative value -36; Murray scored 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 turnovers; Porter made 2 of 10 shots in a slump, 8 points, 5 rebounds, and Westbrook tried his best to contribute 19 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists again.