Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31 Points Ignite Thunder’s Stunning 3-2 Edge Over Nuggets—Can Denver Rally Back?

Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a dazzling show Tuesday night, buzzing past the Denver Nuggets with a 31-point masterpiece that gave the Thunder a 3-2 edge in their Western Conference semifinal battle. Now, that alone wouldn’t be newsworthy — except Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates did it while shadowboxing against Nikola Jokic’s monstrous 44-point, 15-rebound barrage. It was a gritty kind of victory, the kind where momentum swung back and forth like a pendulum, and the Thunder stubbornly refused to blink. Lu Dort’s clutch three-bombs in the final minutes and Jalen Williams’ dagger from deep sealed the deal after Jokic’s deep fadeaway tied things late. Now, Oklahoma City stands just a win away from punching their ticket to the conference finals — with a chance to close it out on Denver’s home court Thursday. That’s some playoff drama you don’t wanna miss. LEARN MORE

Oklahoma City overcame a 44-point, 15-rebound night from Denver’s Nikola Jokic. The Thunder can clinch the series on Thursday in Denver.Jokic made 17 of 25 shots. Denver’s Jamal Murray scored 28 points, but he made just 10 of 27 shots. No other Denver player scored more than 13 points.Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of 23 field goals and had seven assists. He led six Thunder players in double figures.Jokic hit a deep fadeaway 3-pointer to tie the game at 103 before Oklahoma City closed it out. Jalen Williams’ 3-pointer with 1:18 remaining gave the Thunder a 106-103 lead, and Gilgeous-Alexander’s three with 48 seconds to go pushed Oklahoma City’s lead to six.Oklahoma City ran out to a 12-2 lead, and it looked like it might turn out like the Thunder’s blowout victory in Game 2. Denver made one of its first nine shots, and that was a putback by Jokic.

Denver rallied and led by 11 in the second quarter, but Oklahoma City closed strong and trailed 56-54 at halftime. Jokic had 19 points and nine rebounds before the break.Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort, who scored three points in the first three quarters, hit three 3-pointers in a two-minute span to cut Denver’s lead to 92-90 midway through the fourth.OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 112-105 on Tuesday night to go up 3-2 in their Western Conference semifinal series.Denver took control early in the third quarter. Murray scored 13 points in the period and Jokic added 12 to help the Nuggets take an 86-78 lead into the fourth.