OKC Thunder win streak snapped by Nuggets as Jalen Williams exits with injury

Round 2 came heavy-handed, a series of swings from stocky arms riddled with scabs and scars. 

Nikola Jokic did not leave Denver’s rematch with the Thunder on Monday up to a split decision. 

Like he’s often done this season, he wrapped himself around the game, a 140-127 road win in Oklahoma City on the second night of these teams’ late-season back-to-back. It’s the most points any team has poured on the Thunder’s transcendent defense. 

Jokic finished with 35 of them, along with 18 rebounds and eight assists on 15-of-20 shooting. His running mate, Jamal Murray, had 34 of them.

Against the defense of nightmares, Denver’s offense proved lively. It scored 39 fourth-quarter points, making 16 of its 20 attempts in the fourth, including seven of its eight 3s. Six different players made a 3-pointer for them in the quarter. 

Russell Westbrook, Christian Braun and Peyton Watson — all players the Thunder were forced to concede shots to — combined to make nine of their 14 3-point attempts.

On the night, the Nuggets shot 60.5% from the field, 56.3% from deep and 90% from the free-throw line. 

No team has backhanded OKC’s defense with such a violent combination of efficiency and shotmaking. 

Thunder big Chet Holmgren noted that the difference between the two games for Jokic center — who had 24 points on 10-of-23 shooting a day earlier — was that it felt like they’d allowed him the middle of the floor. It’s nearly impossible to help on or trap the NBA’s king manipulator when he’s given room to explore. 

“I don't think that's something that can't be solved or can't be figured out,” Holmgren said. “We have to be better for next time. (Jokic is) gonna be around for a long time, so we're gonna continue to play him, and we just gotta keep getting better every time we play him. 

“When you beat a team, they're not just gonna try and do the exact same thing again. They're gonna make adjustments. They're gonna do different things to try and beat you. It’s a constant back and forth.”

Denver tugged further than it had before.

Meanwhile, OKC scored just 54 points in the second half. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who starred in his 40-point performance a day earlier, finished with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, tied for his third-fewest attempts in a game this season. 

He took just two shots in the final period, attached at the hip with Watson and Braun. 

All-Star Jalen Williams exited the game in the second quarter with a hip strain and never returned, forcing OKC to start the final period without either Williams or SGA. For a half, Denver got especially wonky, tossing out coverages like darts on a board. 

Holmgren, with a sour taste in his mouth after scoring just eight points on 11 shots, never lost sight of what he felt was the real issue. 

“You can't just walk away from the game and be like, ‘we missed shots, next time we hope we make them,’ and you just win and lose based on that,” Holmgren said. “We got to control the game in other ways and defense is one of them.”

These teams won’t meet again this year unless they’re reunited by fate and the postseason. The evidence is pending for Jokic and SGA's MVP cases, though Denver coach Michael Malone thought to submit his vote early.

"Obviously, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great player," Malone said. "And if he wins his first MVP, he's deserving of that. My thing is this. If you didn't know that Nikola won three MVPs, and I put 'Player A' and 'Player B' on paper, and you had no idea that the guy who's averaging a triple-double, the guy who's top-three in the major statistical categories (had already won three) ... he wins the MVP 10 times out of 10. And if you don't think so, I think you guys are all full of (crap)."

Joker got the last regular-season laugh between two players with their sights set beyond the race they've fueled. Gilgeous-Alexander's response can only come in May. Or if he hoists the bronze any sooner.

Denver ensured it couldn't come Monday.

Back to the drawing board for Thunder

Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t forgotten late Monday night. He was just forced to be a bystander. He was complemented in coach Mark Daigneault’s eyes. 

“They were able to limit his attempts,” Daigneault said. “I do think that threw us off rhythm. … That’s certainly not something we’ve seen out of (Denver) very much, if at all. I don’t think we’ve ever seen that out of them. Seen very little of that generally.

“It was specialized for him. I always look at that as a compliment to Shai. … Now it’s on me, our staff and the team to find solutions for that.” 

The novelty Daigneault spoke of lied in the mix of coverages Denver attempted, and what it all meant for SGA. The zones, the traps, the outright denial of SGA’s catches. That kind of spread has been reserved for starving defensive teams like Minnesota. 

And Gilgeous-Alexander, perhaps the world’s most complex scorer, has seen everything there is. But for the Nuggets to go to such lengths, and at the periods in the game that they did, left OKC unresponsive.

“Part of it is we’ve been really good against man,” SGA said. “Basically unstoppable if you ask me. The zone has slowed us down some and teams have had some success (with it). Every other team in the league is watching when you play. … they see something work, they try it, it works, and now it’s a trend.” 

He’s been at the center of his share of trends. A needle mover for the midrange, the catalyst for reviving baggy shorts, an early owner of the Tesla Cybertruck. He’s rarely had to break his way out of a trend. 

He’d prefer to have a firmer grasp on the game. The flattery that comes with a regular season smothering isn’t so flattering.

“We got a bunch of good looks,” he said. “Now, I don’t like to leave the game up to shotmaking. I don’t like to just blame shotmaking and shot missing. … There’s still a way to attack better, even though you’re still getting open 3s.”

Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates have 17 games left to have the math match the philosophy. He spoke with optimism, though, hardly weighed down.

“We play so many games, so many good teams in the league — a win is never as good as it seems,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “A (loss) is never as bad as it seems. That’s what I always tell myself. Last night, I went to bed and was like, ‘tomorrow’s gonna be a new day, you have to play them again. If you lose, you’re gonna have a terrible feeling.'

"It's life. It's basketball. Just gotta stay level headed and learn from your mistakes and try to be better tomorrow."

So Gilgeous-Alexander might toss in his sleep some Monday. He’ll wake up to the world at the tips of shooting fingers, the chance at a postseason run on the horizon.

Thunder at Celtics

TIPOFF: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at TD Garden in Boston (ESPN, FanDuel Sports Network)