Like many of the other top seeds in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder fell apart in Game 1 on their home floor. However, unlike the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics, the Thunder responded with a blowout win in Game 2, crushing the Denver Nuggets 149-106 to even the series at one game each.

Right from the start of Game 2, there was a renewed focus from a Thunder team that seemed to be locked in from start to finish. After the game, Thunder guard Isaiah Joe discussed the biggest thing that changed for Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

“I don't think there was too many changes, I think we just executed our game plan better,” Joe said. “We played the whole 48 minutes and it showed. We were aggressive, we brought the fight to them and it gave us the win.”

The Thunder brought the fight to the Nuggets, and Denver didn't have much fight to throw back at the top seed. After stealing Game 1 on a heroic shot by Aaron Gordon in the final seconds, the Nuggets looked tired and checked out pretty quickly after the initial Oklahoma City surge in the first quarter.

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The Nuggets will still be satisfied with a split on the road to start this series, especially coming in with such a massive rest disadvantage. Now, Nikola Jokic and company will be laser focused on protecting their home court back in Denver as they try to take a 3-1 lead in the series before heading back to Oklahoma City.

Still, it looks like that will be a tall task for the Nuggets to hold serve at altitude. The Thunder were the best team in the NBA all season, finishing with a 68-14 record before crushing the Grizzlies in a first-round sweep.  The Nuggets, on the other hand, had a more up-and-down season and have more miles on the legs after a seven-game series in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers.

If the Thunder can play with the same intensity and focus that they did in Game 2, it will be very hard for the Nuggets to hold them off. Regardless, Games 3 and 4 in Denver should be tight and dramatic as this second round series takes shape.