Nikola Jokic put up another staggering offensive line, but it was his defense that catapulted the Nuggets to a riveting, series-clinching win.
Up 107-104 with 2:35 remaining, Jokic swiped the ball off Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook’s leg for a crucial turnover before Jamal Murray sunk a dagger 3-pointer, one of his four Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center. The margin never got closer than four the rest of the game.
The Nuggets salted away the sweet 121-112 victory with several Jokic free throws and a rousing MVP chant. Jokic finished with 36 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, finishing just one board shy of his 13th triple-double of the season.
The Nuggets wouldn’t have won without Paul Millsap, whose numerous effort and hustle plays staved off the Thunder comeback.
“I thought Paul Millsap saved the day for us,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “As we all know, that’s a very good basketball team. To have beaten them three times this year says a lot about our team, and I don’t even think we’ve played our best basketball yet.”
Not only did the win extend their winning streak to five, it earned the Nuggets (42-18) the series tiebreaker against the Thunder should it come to that. After Tuesday, the Nuggets essentially had a five-game lead on the No. 2 seed with 22 games left.
Paul George nearly carried the Thunder back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals. Westbrook finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.
“When we lose, it’s because we don’t guard,” Malone said presciently prior to the game. “And when we win and beat some of the best teams in the NBA, it’s because our defense is present.”
The Thunder shot just 45 percent from the field and 10 for 38 from the 3-point line.
Westbrook buried a 3-pointer from the wing that momentarily gave the Thunder a 100-97 lead, but Murray responded two possessions later with a clutch 3-pointer in front of the Oklahoma City bench to put the Nuggets up 102-100. Murray turned to look at the Thunder bench before jogging down the floor, one more message sent on a night full of pleasantries.
The physical nature of Tuesday’s national TV broadcast boiled over early in the fourth quarter with the Nuggets sitting on an 11-point lead. Thunder big man Nerlens Noel crushed Gary Harris on a layup attempt, sending the Nuggets’ shooting guard sprawling to the ground. After video review, both were assessed technical fouls. Harris, who recently returned from injury, appeared livid as he was walking off the floor, and tensions hardly cooled as the Thunder hacked into the deficit and cut it to 97-94 with 7:17 remaining.
As tantalizing as a potential Nuggets-Thunder series would be, Malone was uninterested in entertaining the possibility.
“It could be a potential matchup and all that, but for us, it’s just we’ve got to get there first,” Malone said. “None of us are sitting there putting our playoff books together. We’ve got 23 games to go against some really good basketball teams. … Let’s get the win, and we can worry about all the other stuff after.”
The Nuggets entered Tuesday as one of the few teams that had partially solved the Westbrook riddle. In their prior two games, both Nuggets win, Westbrook was limited to just 14.5 points per game on 28 percent shooting from the field. That was largely a testament to Torrey Craig’s long-limbed, unrelenting defense.
With Harris healthy for the first time in the season series, that task fell to a larger committee of Craig, Harris and Malik Beasley.
“No one person stops Russell Westbrook,” Malone said.
The same could be said of George, whose improved 3-point shooting has added another dimension to his game even as his defense hasn’t suffered. Tuesday’s 3-of-14 3-point performance was a rare off night for him.
“Paul George is playing at an MVP level,” Malone said. “I think we all realize that. He’s been remarkable this year on both ends of the floor. You have two guys in Westbrook and George that I think are tied for steals per game. They are just very disruptive in all they do. And then when the shot goes up, sometimes that’s their best offense. They’ve got athletic guys, their guards crash and Steven Adams is just an absolute load down there.”
Both teams clawed for an edge in a physical, back-and-forth first half before the Nuggets surged to end the second quarter on a 20-9 run. Denver, which took a 64-51 lead into the half, forced nine turnovers and held the Thunder to just 2-of-18 from 3-point range. That included bottling up Westbrook and George for just 17 points in the early going.
On offense, it was vintage Nuggets. Murray sunk several of his signature stepbacks, strutting and soaking it in as the adoring crowd roared. Thomas hit two clutch 3-pointers and Will Barton barreled his way into the lane for 14 first-half points. But, as it usually does, much of their offensive swell hinged on Jokic. He capped the first-half with his third 3-pointer of the game, entering the break with 19 points and seven assists.
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