Losing at home! Nuggets lost to the Thunder 87-92

In a focus game in the second round of the NBA playoffs that just ended, the Denver Nuggets lost to the Thunder 87-92 at home, and the total score in the series was 2-2. After losing this crucial home game, the Nuggets will go to the away game to face the Battle of Tianwang Mountain. If they lose again in G5, they will trail the Thunder 2-3.

At the beginning of the game, the Thunder played away quickly took the initiative, and Chet scored a strong dunk with both hands after receiving the ball at the basket. Porter Jr., Jr., failed to make two consecutive three-pointers. Halfway through the first quarter, the Nuggets' shooting percentage was only 1 of 7 shots and scored only 3 points. In the end, Murray broke the scoring drought with free throws, and at the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets trailed by 9 points 8-17. It is worth noting that the Nuggets made 0 of 14 shots in the first quarter, while the Thunder made 1 of 11 shots.

Entered the second quarter, the Thunder's counterattack momentum was strong, and Harten's all-connected score helped the Thunder expand its lead to 15 points, and the Nuggets failed to score in the past 6 and a half minutes. However, with the outstanding performances of Jokic and Braun, the Nuggets gradually narrowed the gap and fell 6 points 36-42 at the end of the half. At this time, only Jokic and Braun scored in double digits, each contributing 11 points.

In the third quarter, the Nuggets' touch recovered. Braun, Gordon and Murray made 4 consecutive three-pointers and quickly surpassed the Thunder with 58-52 for 6 points. The Nuggets performed better in this quarter, surpassing the Thunder with a single quarter score of 33-21. However, after the start of the fourth quarter, Harten's "2+1" and Wiggins' three-pointer helped the Thunder narrow the gap to 1 point. Afterwards, the two sides started a tug-of-war, and the Thunder took a 6-point lead with 3 minutes left in the game. In the end, the Nuggets failed to reverse and unfortunately lost.

So, where did the Nuggets lose? Maybe the data can give us some clues. Murray felt sluggish in the first half, but recovered his form in the third quarter and made consecutive three-pointers to help the team overtake. He made 5 of 15 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws, and finally scored 17 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 1 foul. Faced with the Thunder's tough defense, Murray scored only 5 points in the first half, but quickly scored 8 points through free throws and two three-pointers in the third quarter, helping the team overtake. Although Murray broke the scoring drought in nearly 4 minutes with mid-range shots in the key fourth quarter, he failed to lead the team to reverse in the face of the Thunder's multiple points. In the next away game of Tianwang Mountain, Murray needs to quickly recover his form.

Jokic rarely felt bad in two consecutive games in the playoffs, which also reflects the significant effect of the Thunder's tight double-teaming. Faced with the Thunder's strong defenses of Homgren and Haltenstein, as well as the repeated interference of other players, Jokic seemed very troubled on the offensive end, making 7 of 21 shots in the game, 2 of 7 three-pointers, and 11 of 14 free throws.

Jokic contributed 27 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in the game, despite 2 turnovers and 4 fouls. He was in poor form in the first half, making only 2 of 9 shots, but scored 11 points through frequent inside offenses, becoming the team's top halftime scoring. In the third quarter, he and Murray teamed up to regain their form, scored another 11 points in a single quarter, helping the team overtake. However, in the crucial fourth quarter, he missed both free throws for a foul and failed to narrow the gap. In the next battle of Tianwang Mountain, other players need to give Jokic more support.

Potter's performance is like a roller coaster, with ups and downs. In the last game, he made 7 of 10 shots, 5 of 6 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 21 points and 8 rebounds, but he fell into a downturn again in the game, making 1 of 7 shots, 0 of 5 three-pointers, and 1 of 2 free throws, scoring only 3 points and 9 rebounds. Despite the poor feel, Porter performed well in defense and rebounding protection, and the positive and negative values ​​on the field were also the highest in the team. As the Nuggets' main outside shooter, Porter needs to maintain his shooting stability in the G5 to help the team win away.

Braun's performance was also unstable. After scoring only 8 points in G3, in this game, the team was in poor form, became one of the main scoring points in the first half. In the end, 4 of 11 shots were made, 2 of 9 three-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws, scoring 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover and 3 fouls. Braun was full of energy on both offense and defense. He scored 11 points by rushing to the basket in the first half, and made consecutive three-pointers with Westbrook in the second half, helping the Nuggets to lead by 6 points. However, in the crucial fourth quarter, he felt cold and missed the shots frequently. He needs to continue to stay energetic and better support the team's offense and defense.

Gordon became the nightmare of the Thunder in the series. He defeated the Thunder with a three-pointer in his first match against G1. His key three-pointer in G3 helped the Nuggets equalize the score at regular time and enter overtime. In this game, he was in good shape, 5 of 10 shots, 3 of 7 three-pointers, and 2 of 4 free throws, scoring 15 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block and 4 turnovers. Although he didn't make many shots in this game, he performed well in rebounds and assists. At the critical moment, he hit a life-saving three-pointer again, but because there was not much time left, he failed to save the team again. Gordon has comprehensively improved his offensive ability in this playoffs, and has averaged 18.6 points per game in 10 games so far, shooting percentage of 49.6%, shooting percentage of 3-pointers and shooting percentage of 90.5%, which is close to the 180 club. In the past, everyone only knew that Gordon was a deducting player, but he didn't expect his offensive level to improve so quickly.

As for substitutes, Westbrook felt bad in two consecutive games, but he still gave his all on both offense and defense, full of vitality. He made 2 of 12 shots, 2 of 9 three-pointers, and 0 of 0 free throws, scoring only 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 turnover and 2 fouls. Despite his poor shooting form, he still performed well on the defensive end and showed a positive fighting spirit in the third quarter.