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Puts Thunder 124-122 in an instant classic

The Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder played an instant November Classic tonight, with Denver rallying from a 16-point deficit to beat the Thunder 124-122 after Peyton Watson's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander layup attempt. Nikola Jokic had an obscene 23 points, 20 rebounds and 16 assists on the night, but Watson's heroics after missing both free throws in the final minute put the exclamation point on an incredible finish. Christian Braun scored 24 points and 8 points while playing great defense, MPJ had 21 points in the second half and sank 6 threes – and Denver needed them all. SGA had 28 points and 6 assists, but its 8 turnovers helped Denver turn the tide, and Jalen Willams' 29 couldn't quite close the deal. Denver avenged the opener by handing the Thunder their first loss of the season and made it clear that even without Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, the Nuggets are not a team to be taken lightly.

Game review

Isaiah Joe opened the scoring for OKC with a three-pointer, while Russell Westbrook responded with a jump shot and a three-pointer. Jokic had a paint bucket, but Lu Dort had a three-pointer for the Thunder, and two Oklahoma City layups made it 14-7. Christian Braun made two free throws, Porter missed a 3-pointer and a layup and his shot from Jokic was blocked as Denver struggled to get going early. Peyton Watson missed a three-pointer badly, Russ got a tech for arguing against a charge call, but then completed a nice layup off a Jokic pass. Jokic hit a full-court outlet to Braun to cut the score to 17-13, and then MPJ sank a three-pointer to get it at 1. However, Isaiah Joe hit a 3 for OKC and Jalen Williams finished at the rim, but Braun made a pair of free throws and a 3 in response. Peyton Watson missed another 3 and had a bad turnover for a dunk by Ousmane Dieng and a 26-21 OKC lead. Jokic made a layup and a great assist to a cutting Hunter Tyson, who was sandwiched around a Dieng 3. Jokic made 3 of 4 free throws after another OKC 3 (they were 6 of 12 in the quarter as Denver showed some zone defense) and Russ had a pair of his own, but Denver trailed 32-30 after one.

Zeke Nnaji started the second quarter for Denver, scoring one of two from the line. Jalen Williams buried another 3 for OKC, Westbrook turned the ball over after MPJ ​​missed a long 2, but Nnaji missed and Russ buried a 3 to tie the game. Porter hit a three-pointer while OKC made two shots as Denver went cold. The Nuggets were down by 7 when Jokic checked back in and immediately sank a three-pointer. Julian Strawther ran into early foul trouble again and picked up his third foul when Aaron Wiggins completed a traditional 3-point play, then Holmgren hit a regulation 3-pointer to give OKC a double-digit lead, 49-39. Jokic passed to Watson in the dunker spot for Peyton's first basket and Braun got back to the line as Denver fought its way back. Russ made two free throws of his own. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a paint runner for the Thunder over a sliding Watson, then a baseline jumper that was answered by a Russ layup. Russ was everywhere in the first half, and a steal from Jokic turned into a Westbrook dunk to cut the deficit to four. Jokic made the turnaround by making two-team contact, but Isaiah Joe and SGA continued to make shots. Braun hit a 3, Holmgren had an OKC layup and Denver let go of the rope a bit at the end of the quarter as turnovers and missed shots turned into Thunder layups. The Thunder took a 66-55 lead into halftime.

MPJ sank a first three-pointer at the start of the second half, which was answered by Lu Dort after a bad turnover by Braun, who tried to get the ball to Jokic. Watson also turned the ball over just off the dribble for a layup, but completed a dunk the next time around. Mike took a step back but fouled SGA as he went the other way. Jokic missed a layup and then had a turnover as Denver came out of the half flat. Malone got a technical arguing against Jokic that fouls weren't called as Denver fell behind by 16 points when MPJ and Westbrook made two threes. Braun's 3 cut it to 10 and forced an OKC timeout. However, Isaiah Joe hit another three-pointer for OKC, Jokic added a shot off the block, and a Westbrook-forced turnover turned into a Jokic-assisted layup for Westbrook, cutting the game to 84-75. Jokic still couldn't buy a whistle as the Thunder kayak paddled him, but he made a layup, Julian Strawther hit a spinning floater on a rebound, and then Strawther hit a 3 that forced a Thunder timeout at one To cap off a 19-6 run and make it a one-score game. A Watson block led to an MPJ three-pointer to tie the game, then Mike's free throws gave Denver an 89-87 lead as he had 13 points in the quarter. Both teams increased the tempo with transition attempts and Mike had more free throws, which were answered by Chet's tip-in. Jokic assisted Chet for a basket that gave him 20 points, and SGA got the fouls that Jokic couldn't. Nnaji hit a three-pointer, Strawther missed a Jokic pass, but Jokic grabbed a rebound and ended the quarter with a second minute remaining to make it 95-5.

The pace of play remained high at the start of the fourth period, with fouls and transition attempts in both directions. Russ and Shai exchanged shots, both made free throws, MPJ sank a three-pointer and Wiggins made an OKC layup to put the Thunder up 104-103 when Jokic returned at the 8:43 mark. Denver had some brutal missed rebounds and loose ball issues, but OKC couldn't capitalize on them. Braun missed a layup in traffic, MPJ had a three-pointer and OKC was able to secure the bonus early thanks to overly aggressive fouls on the Nuggets' defense. Jokic missed a three-pointer when Denver had a cold shot, but forced Holmgren to lose the ball on the baseline. Watson made a free throw to break a four-minute scoreless streak for the Nuggets, Strawther found Braun for a bank shot to tie the game, and MPJ's three-pointer after Alex Caruso's first basket put Denver ahead 109-108. Braun hit a three-pointer, SGA got free throws for OKC and both teams fought wildly until Watson sank a three-pointer after Jokic recovered a blocked tip from Holmgren. Chen then hit his own three-pointer to cut the deficit to 117-113, and after a missed transition shot from Braun, it was Julian Strawther's follow-up dunk that brought the crowd to its feet. Then the next time, Strawther had two free throws to increase Denver's lead to 6, and Jokic forced Shai into an over-and-back turnover. Watson made a great transition finish, but failed the next time and Jaylin Williams sank another three-pointer, making it a three-point game with less than a minute left. Jokic made a free throw, but Watson missed both shots, leaving the goal open, but as SGA drove down the lane for a layup, he was blocked by Peyton Watson on a spectacular play at the buzzer to seal the deal. The final score was 124-122 Denver.

Final thoughts

There is so much good in this game that I don't even know where to start. Nikola Jokic had stats not seen since Oscar Robertson, and that was just the beginning. Christian Braun played phenomenal defense all night for SGA, contributing to the OKC star's 8 turnovers, and Christian also tallied 24 points on 8 boards. After a first half in which he made just one shot, MPJ scored 21 points to go with his seven rebounds for the game. Strawther had key passes and throws and played with wild abandon despite once again being in foul trouble, and Denver needed it all. After botching both free throws in the final seconds, Watson became the scapegoat and made the game-saving block at the buzzer. So many great things about this game – a game that not only ended OKC's undefeated streak, but also helped give Denver's more inexperienced players a playoff atmosphere and a classic finish in November. This is something that could pay off in the long run.

And then there was Russ. Denver struggled mightily in the first 30 minutes of this game, trailing by 16 almost halfway through the third, but Westbrook kept them going. He had 19 points in the first half and despite his four turnovers in the first two quarters He led the offensive with Jokic brilliantly. He finished the game with 29/6/6 and had zero turnovers in the second half as Denver made its comeback. This is the Westbrook that Denver was hoping for when they signed him – the player who sets the pace and energy but can also form a duo with Jokic when needed and be a true leader on the court to the young players helps to keep track during the learning curve. The mission is definitely accomplished tonight.

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