OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Nikola Jokic was nearly unstoppable against Oklahoma City’s gritty, aggressive defense.
The Thunder made a valiant effort to disrupt him, as they have all series. Denver’s superstar center still had 44 points and 15 rebounds on Tuesday night. He made 17 of 25 shots, with many of them closely contested.
It wasn’t enough. Oklahoma City beat Denver 112-105, and now the Nuggets will return home trailing their Western Conference semifinal series 3-2 and facing elimination in Game 6 on Thursday.
Jokic said Oklahoma City still played the same kind of defense that bothered him in Games 2 through 4, when he shot just 33% from the field and 18.