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The Denver Nuggets were somehow tied with the 68-win Oklahoma City Thunder through four games of the Western Conference Semifinals, despite superstar center Nikola Jokic stumbling through the last three contests. They desperately needed him to regain his Hall of Fame form in Tuesday's crucial road matchup, and the near-7-footer emerged without any trace of his past missteps. He was utterly brilliant, but the team still came up short.
Jokic scored 44 points on 17-of-25 shooting, pulled down 15 rebounds, recorded two steals and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line in what turned out to be a tough 112-105 loss. He carried the Nuggets and had them positioned for a momentous victory until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Luguentz Dort spurred OKC with a 3-point barrage, and MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and All-Star Jalen Williams each made clutch buckets to help secure the series lead.
Conversely, every Denver player except Jokic faltered in the final frame. A one-man show is not enough to vanquish the deep Thunder in the Paycom Center. Fans were baffled by the lack of help the 2023 NBA Finals MVP received in Game 5 and took to social media to roast the Nuggets.
“Feel bad for him,” @BarcaaaKkr2025 lamented on X. “Give Jokic some help,” @dgsire pleaded. “Literally the only guy who came to play hahaha..” @papamenuisier remarked. “His team decided to sit out the 4th,” @melchen said.
Can Nuggets bring everything together after uneven first five games?
The Nuggets' championship DNA did not activate beyond Nikola Jokic. Michael Porter Jr. scored a paltry two points on 1-of-7 shooting. Jamal Murray disappeared in the final frame and finished 10-of-27 from the field. Christian Braun shot 3-of-12 in 43 minutes. Additionally, noted energizer Russell Westbrook made multiple key misfires, knocking down just one of his seven attempts. Denver combusted in the most important matchup of the year.
If any of those aforementioned players elevated their level just slightly, the Nuggets may not have squandered this Jokic masterpiece. However, one cannot just forget the previous three games. Those guys carried the three-time MVP, providing sufficient offense while he shot an awful 21-of-63 during that stretch. Jokic has propped up this franchise for much of his career and showed up when the Nuggets counted on him most, but ignoring the recent past discredits what his teammates accomplished.
They should be held accountable for their latest struggles, though, just as Jokic was earlier in the week. When the face of the franchise sets the tone with a herculean outing, others are supposed to follow suit. Considering the vulnerability of Denver's situation, it will take a long-awaited complete effort for this group to force a Game 7 in Oklahoma City.
