Fresh off regaining control of the series, the Denver Nuggets will look to stretch their advantage when they go head to head with the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals on Sunday.
OKC, who suffered their first road defeat since the first week of April, find themselves trailing in the series once again and will be looking to bounce back at Ball Arena, where they have lost their most recent two visits.
Match preview
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The Denver Nuggets had to work their socks off on Friday night as they secured a 113-104 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime to take the lead in the Western Conference semis.
With offensive leader Nikola Jokic enduring a cold shooting display, the Nuggets needed a solid contribution across the board as four of their five starters finished with 20+ points, led by Jamal Murray, who tallied 27 to go with eight assists.
Jokic went 8-25 from the field and failed to make any of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc but still knocked down 20 points while Antony Gordon and Michael Porter Jr notched 22 and 21 points respectively.
The Nuggets will be backing themselves to get the job done on Sunday as they return to Ball Arena, where they have won five of their most recent six games — with April's 105-102 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 of the first round being the exception.
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In all fairness, the Oklahoma City Thunder have every right to feel disappointed with Saturday's result, having led for most of the night — Mark Daigneault's men spent 38:18 in front — before capitulating in the fourth quarter.
After Gordon hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter to help the Nuggets force overtime, OKC failed to pick up momentum as an 11-2 run to begin the restart pushed Denver on to a hard-fought victory.
Like Jokic, the Thunder's offensive metronome Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled to impact the game as he missed 15 of 22 shots to finish with 18 points — his second-lowest scoring display in the playoffs behind 15 points in Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies on April 20.
Jalen Williams did the heavy lifting for Oklahoma as he knocked down 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting while Chet Holmgren tallied 18 points and 16 rebounds to record his fourth double-double of the post season.
Before Saturday's result, Daigneault's men were on a run of five back-to-back victories on their travels, including consecutive wins in the 4-0 sweep of the Grizzlies in the Western Conference first round in April.
Having won Game 2 by a landslide 43 points two nights back, the Oklahoma City Thunder know that they have the quality needed to edge out the home side as they look to level the series and press on in their quest for a first championship since 1979.
Team News
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The Denver Nuggets will be without the services of DaRon Holmes, who has spent the entire campaign on the sidelines after suffering a severe Achilles injury in pre-season.
Barring any late fitness concerns, Holmes remains the only injury concern for the Nuggets head into Sunday's matchup, giving coach Adelson a relatively full house at his disposal.
Like the home side, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have to cope without Serbian guard Nikola Topic, who has been sidelined for the remainder of the season through a severe knee problem.
Williams enjoyed his best game of the players so far on Saturday when he put up 32 points, five assists and three rebounds, and the 24-year-old will look to deliver the goods once again, alongside offensive partner Gilgeous-Alexander.
Denver Nuggets possible starting 5:
Murray, Braun, Jokic, Gordon, Porter Jr
Oklahoma City Thunder possible starting 5:
Williams, Dort, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander
We say: The Denver Nuggets to win by 5+ points.
While the Denver Nuggets will be looking to go two up and take pole position in the series, the Thunder will head into Sunday's clash desperate to bounce back as they continue their quest for a first NBA championship since 1979.
Daigneault's men will need to be at their best at Ball Arena, where Denver have won five of their last six games, but we predict that Jokic will shake off an uncharacteristic cold Game 3 display and lead the Nuggets to victory.
Joshua Ojele
