Denver Basketball Team, Nuggets, Face Off Against Rival Team in Exciting Game
Title: Nikola Jokic's Epic Showdown in Oklahoma City: G5 of the 2025 NBA Playoffs
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - The Thunder's beaten path through tornado alley changed Denver's season in Game 5 of the 2025 NBA playoffs. In this nail-biter, Lu Dort set the stage for an electric comeback, sealing a pivotal 112-105 win for Oklahoma City.
The Nuggets were precariously close, but the brink of elimination stared them down following their loss. Game 6 returns to Denver on Thursday (6:30 p.m. MT), moments away from vanquishing a formidable foe: an unstoppable Thunder team boasting a 68-win season.
Jalen Williams nailed a game-winning three with 1:19 on the clock, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander clinched the victory with a cold-blooded dagger on the subsequent play.
Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray teamed up to score 26 points in the third quarter, captivating the game before slipping a fraction from their grasp. With a slim single-digit lead at the start of the fourth quarter, interim coach David Adelman kept Jokic and Murray on the court. The result: seven scoreless minutes for Denver as the Paycom Center reached deafening levels of energy, mirroring Oklahoma City's stifling defense.
Gilgeous-Alexander nailed a midrange jumper while drawing a foul from Murray, creating a decisive 3-point play for Oklahoma City with 2:02 remaining, pushing their lead to 103-100. Jokic retorted with a legendary Sombor Shuffle, draining a fade-away three over Chet Holmgren to tie the game with 1:39 to go.
Despite Jokic's tour de force, the Thunder triumphed in the end. Jokic posted 44 efficient points and 15 rebounds in his finest game of the series. Murray struggled with his shots, but his grit earned him 26 points.
The rest of the Nuggets managed just 13 of 45 shots.
Oklahoma City boasted a balanced performance, led by Gilgeous-Alexander's 29 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. The Nuggets mustered a mere 19 points in the last quarter.
Jokic's performance in the past three games showcased a slump rarely seen in his career. Over that span, he staggered a dismal average of 21.3 points, five turnovers, and five assists. He shot just 33% from the field, 18% from beyond the arc, and even missed two crucial free throws in the dying moments of Game 4's loss. Caught in Oklahoma City's compact defense, hindered by an injured right elbow, and searching for an elusive whistle, he faltered as a superstar.
Yet, the Nuggets entered this do-or-die game in Oklahoma City with a sterling 6-0 record under such circumstances in the Jokic era. Despite doubts, they often emerge victorious in 3-2 series leads. More precisely, Jokic himself excels in such situations. In their 2024 Game 5 against Minnesota in the second round, Jokic showcased an unforgettable performance, setting the stage for a historic comeback that ultimately concluded with disappointment.
Jokic appeared poised for another monumental effort in Oklahoma City, unfazed by the Thunder's pesky defense, opting to work at his own pace. His first half sparkled with a dazzling array of highlights: a smooth lefty hook over Isaiah Hartenstein, a battery of unstoppable 3-pointers despite multiple defenders, a condescending stare after an attempted charge, swiftly followed by a self-pass off the backboard for a simple finish.
However, the Thunder refused to crumble, scrambling to turn a double-digit deficit into a comeback. Right as Jokic and Murray threatened to seize control in the third, Oklahoma City answered with a miniature 10-4 run to slice Denver's lead in half.
As the fourth quarter dawned, Dort, who struggled in the previous game due to an ill-timed misfire from deep, found his range, sinking three clutch three-pointers, and ultimately, securing the Thunder's season with the series hinging in the balance.
- Nikola Jokic's impressive performance in Game 5, with 44 points and 15 rebounds, was marred by the Nuggets' poor shooting in the final quarter, as they managed only 13 of 45 shots.
- In a pivotal moment of the game, Jokic attempted to equalize with a legendary Sombor Shuffle and a fade-away three over Chet Holmgren, but missed the crucial free throws in the dying moments of Game 4.
- The NBA playoffs policy states that an elimination game requires a team to perform exceptionally well, and the Nuggets, with a 6-0 record in such circumstances in the Jokic era, aim to follow this policy in Game 6, which returns to Denver on Thursday, to vanquish the formidable Thunder team.
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