Oklahoma City desperately needed a response.
After embarrassingly blowing Game 1, all the pressure was on the Thunder to regain momentum as its series with Denver prepared to move back to the Mile High City.
You wouldn’t have known it. OKC came out aggressive, building a 20+ point lead in the first quarter and never looking back, dominating the Nuggets and emerging with a 149-106 win. After letting Game 1 slip through its fingers, the Thunder had no plans to leave Game 2 up for doubt.
It became clear that OKC had come to Game 2 with a different mentality early.
The Thunder scored an NBA-record 87 first-half points and took a 31-point lead into the half, and instead of letting off the gas, the Thunder pressed down on the accelerator. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looked like the MVP, scoring 34 points and posting a game-high +51, becoming the first player this century to accomplish that feat.
Gilgeous-Alexander was joined by Jalen Williams in playing well. After a rough Game 1, Williams looked much more comfortable in Game 2. The all-star scored 17 points and blocked two shots, often holding his own, as much as anyone can, when being switched onto Nikola Jokic.
OKC’s defense on Jokic was the biggest difference between Game 1 and Game 2. In Game 1, Jokic dominated, scoring 42 points and grabbing 22 rebounds, including crucial shots down the stretch that put the Nuggets in position to pull off the improbable comeback. In Game 2, Jokic scored just 17 points and had only eight rebounds, all while fouling out in the third quarter.
Jokic will bounce back. He is closer to a 40-20 player than he is a 17-8 player. That said, OKC’s attacking team defense is as good a plan as any team has had to slow him down this season. Even in Game 1, OKC forced Jokic into a game-high seven turnovers, most of which came when OKC would bring a double right where Jokic would spin into.
Thunder fans, I wouldn’t take much from Jokic’s Game 2. If anyone reading this is a bettor, take the over on his points, rebounds and assists prop ahead of Game 3.
The thing I would take from Game 2 is how OKC rebounded the basketball. Over the second half of the NBA season, OKC evolved into a solid rebounding team. In Game 1, the Thunder looked like the team that frustrated fans last season, getting outrebounded by 20. In Game 2, OKC reasserted itself on the glass, winning the rebounding battle by six.
It’s hard to take anything overly pressing from Game 2. OKC played so well that it wasn’t ever a competitive game. It’s safe to assume that in Game 3, the Nuggets will look competent against an OKC team that they beat 48 hours ago, albeit in flukey fashion.
Denver didn’t appear to take a victory lap after Game 1, and OKC shouldn’t after Game 2.
Now, it’s a race to see which side can win three games — and it should be a good one.
