Nuggets-Thunder Game 1 3-pointers: Nikola Jokic wins round one of MVP duel with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The Nuggets somehow pulled magic out of weary legs and heaving chests Monday night outlasting a well-rested Oklahoma City juggernaut just two days after a seven-game slog against the Clippers Here are three key takeaways from a thrilling Denver Encounter win The Legend of Mr Nugget grows The guy as Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman mentioned is taking a chance every time he merely jumps Through a nagging calf injury the even-keeled Gordon was a raucous hero of the Nuggets first-round ouster of the Los Angeles Clippers authoring the highest-scoring series of his playoff career and giving Denver a Contest win on a buzzer-beating slam And on Monday night he took another sweeping bow as Oklahoma City s home crowd fell stunned at the tail end of a -point second-half comeback Gordon hustled his way to rebounds muscling through the air and lying flat on hardwood He put -foot- Chet Holmgren on a picture-perfect poster elevating so high over Holmgren s arms he threw the ball through cylinder And when push came to shove again a pass from Russell Westbrook located him nestled in the corner with seconds remaining and the Nuggets down by one Gordon let fly and uncovered twine and another shred of a Denver franchise history that exclusively can t be notified without him The Caruso Challenge In another world perhaps the Thunder retained Josh Giddey this offseason and got the optimized Chicago Bulls-era version of him to follow the dude who shot from three and could genuinely make teams pay for leaving him In the real world however the Thunder jettisoned the No overall pick back in for Alex Caruso a guard who s averaged points per tournament in his NBA career And it worked wonders In Event Caruso made OKC general manager Sam Presti look like a genius He bumped down on Nikola Jokic in the post and zipped into passing lanes like his hair was on fire well if he had any en trail to a plus- in minutes before the break And he made Denver pay for giving him the same let-it-fly recovery they gave Clippers pest Kris Dunn nailing five of his nine s Caruso finished with points six assists five steals and two blocks but his contributions couldn t save Oklahoma City from Gordon s heroics Jokic wins Round of the MVP duel The man who s become synonymous with the phrase aura strolled down Oklahoma City s tunnel pregame baggy ripped jeans and a designer vest hugging his frame a fittingly runway-style entrance for one Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Related Articles Aaron Gordon risking his calf every time he explodes and jumps David Adelman says Nuggets vs Thunder scouting review Matchups how to watch and series predictions Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder playoff series schedule Competition times TV Russell Westbrook s fiery Championship caps ultimate revenge series He runs at degrees Nuggets Christian Braun finds Challenge vindication after Timberwolves disappointment His competition for the Preponderance Valuable Athlete Award meanwhile wore a plain white tee tucked into his pants and the metaphor for the Gilgeous-Alexander-Nikola Jokic matchup spoke for itself Very different competitor Jokic revealed on Saturday night And as the two best players of - took to the ring again Monday night Jokic largely threw the loudest punches in an all-out effort where he barked at teammates in the huddle barked at referees and climbed Oklahoma City trees en highway to a stunning boards and points in the fourth quarter Gilgeous-Alexander nearly slammed the door on Jokic and Denver with of his points in the final frame But Jokic braving a matchup zone in which nearly all five Oklahoma City bodies lingered near the paint when he touched the ball nailed a massive -pointer to cut the Thunder s lead to one with a minute left and buried clutch free throw after clutch free throw down the stretch Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis
