This One Hurts...

The Thunder have tied the series up 2-2 with game 5 being in OKC on Tuesday. The Nuggets needed this win. As the inferior team, the formula to beat the better team with home court advantage is to split one of the first 2 and win all the home games, essentially ending the series in 6 games. Denver was oh so close to going up 3-1 today and following that same formula. Unfortunately, they didn't. For this game in particular, it's not the fact that they lost that stings. It's how they lost.

The Nuggets came out in this game shooting ice cold. They scored 8 points in the opening quarter. 8. Of course, this is a testament to how good OKC's defense but Denver missed a lot of open 3s. The end of the first quarter saw the Thunder take the lead 17-8. The 25 combined points in the first quarter were the lowest in playoff history. So, as poorly as the Nuggets were shooting, they were remarkably not out of it because of the combination of their defense playing well and OKC missing open shots. It was a tough watch if you were a neutral observer. The Nuggets, however, climbed back into it and played a decent second quarter and cut the lead from 23-8 early in the second quarter, to 42-36 at halftime. So Denver, at this point, hasn't played great, but they are more than relieved to be in the game after such a horrendous start to the game.

Then came the 3rd quarter. It was full of Nuggets basketball. The Jokic-Murray duo was in full form. Murray, Gordon, and Braun were hitting their threes. Westbrook was making huge defensive plays against SGA. It was looking really good. Denver won the quarter 33-21 and all the momentum in the world at home heading into the 4th with a 6-point lead. Then came the bizarre 4th quarter. In all the matchups between OKC and Denver, Denver has had their number in close games. So, heading into the 4th with Denver being up by 6, it's advantage Denver. The Nuggets 2 minutes into the 4th, after a Gordon jump shot went up 73-66. And then on. The very next 2 possessions, the Thunder hit 2 threes behind Wllace and Joe to cut it from 73-66. to 73-72, and this is where Denver lost the game. With a chance to put the Thunder down, they let them hang around, and it ended up costing them. The lead, for OKC, then became 77-73 before Denver struck again. That 11-0 run by OKC in a 4-and-a-half minute stretch won them the game. Once Denver fell behind, they were just unable to recapture the lead.

It was very weird to see. The Nuggets had been good in the clutch all playoffs, and today they looked like the inexperienced youngsters. The Nuggets called a timeout down 81-78 with around 5 minutes to go. As soon as they came out of the timeout, they committed a 5-second violation. OKC would take advantage and go up 83-78. Then moments later, the Nuggets found themselves down 84-80 with Jokic at the free throw line with around 3 minutes to go. He missed both free throws, and then on the next instance, Jalen Williams scored a layup to go up 86-80, and that 4-point swing felt like the dagger. OKC would hold on to win 92-87 and tie the series.

The gut-wrenching aspect of this is that when you are a Nuggets team that is playing against a superior OKC team, you have to win all the 50-50 games. That is exactly what they did in games 1 and 3. However, them not capitalizing on that in game 4 puts them at a disadvantage now. Not only did they lose home court, but this young Thunder team now has some confidence that they can win a scrappy game down the stretch. It doesn't have to be all sunshine and rainbows like it was in game 2.

Here is what must happen in Game 5 and any game moving forward in this series. Jokic has to be better. He has to be. Since game 1, Jokic has shot a combined 21/63. I've never seen him play so poorly in this many games consecutively. Yes, OKC has done a good job defending him, but he has faced many great defenses throughout the years and has never looked like this. He is missing shots that he normally makes with his eyes closed, and at times, I hate to say it, he has been looking for the foul calls more than just playing basketball. His flopping the last few games and been at an all-time high, it feels like, and right now this team. He just needs to go in there and play basketball because I know Nuggets Nation is tired of seeing the extracurricular activities. This team right now needs the 3-time MVP to show up and show out on the road in game 5. The team that wins game 5 of the playoffs wins the Series 82.2% of the time

Will he get it done?