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Michael Porter Jr. had a career-high 37 points and Nikola Jokic had a 30-point triple-double as the Denver Nuggets outlasted the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-113 in overtime. Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander combined for 47 points but that wasn't enough for OKC in a game that saw a total of 61 fouls being called.
The Denver Nuggets were missing the services of three starters in Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Will Barton. The Oklahoma City Thunder were also without Dennis Schroder who had left the bubble earlier during the day following the birth of his second child.
The Denver Nuggets rushed to a quick 14-6 lead with the offense flowing through Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. The Thunder then got back into the game with quick buckets from Chris Paul and Danilo Gallinari. Points were hard to come by, especially from downtown as the first quarter ended 23-22 in Denver's favor.
Unfortunately for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mike Muscala took a hard fall, hitting his head in the process and had to leave the game.
Neither Denver Nuggets nor Oklahoma City Thunder takes control
The back-and-forth affair continued in the second with OKC first going on a 6-0 run before the Denver Nuggets came back to lead 34-31 after 17 minutes of play. Porter Jr. was having a roll in the middle, having dropped 16 points already by now. He only had 4 points combined in two outings against the Oklahoma City Thunder prior to this game.
The Denver Nuggets dropped a few more buckets quickly and opened a 10-point game. However, CP3 led the Oklahoma City Thunder's rally back into the game as Billy Donovan's men got a lot of shots at the free-throw line. The first half concluded with OKC leading 51-50.
Free-throws galore
Lu Dort made plays on both ends of the floor to start the third, first making a trey and then matching Paul Millsap at the rim for a hard block.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gave away three quick fouls and had to sit out the remainder of the quarter. Chris Paul stepped up in Shai's absence as he played extended minutes and had 19 points to go with his 5 assists at the end of the third.
Foul trouble was the order of the day as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets had both combined for 45 free-throw attempts already with 12 minutes left to play. The Thunder led 81-78 heading into the fourth.
Michael Porter Jr. caught fire again as he dropped two treys to give Denver a 90-84 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander, however, had a massive impact after returning to the game as he scored 12 quick points to give the Oklahoma City Thunder a 100-96 lead.
The Denver Nuggets clamped up their defense post that and the OKC defense dried up. Porter Jr. continued draining buckets and Jokic kept getting to the charity stripe as the Denver Nuggets led 109-108 with six seconds left in the ball game. Chris Paul had the chance to win the game for the Oklahoma City Thunder after getting to the free-throw line but went only one for two as we headed into overtime.
Jokic took over for Denver following that as OKC showed fatigue in OT. Billy Donovan's men had no answers for the Nuggets who eventually won 121-113.
Nikola Jokic got a lot of praise for his performance on the night. He ended with 30 points, 10 assists, and 12 rebounds to record his 41st career triple-double.
Michael Porter Jr. too received plaudits on Twitter for his 37 points and 12 rebounds.
Also read: Houston Rockets vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction & Match Preview - August 4th, 2020
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