OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder never railed against the prevailing narrative that has followed them through two stellar regular seasons and two runs to the conference semifinals.
They never outwardly fought back against the belief that they’re too young, too naive and not desperate enough to recognize a moment, to play with urgency under the white-hot cauldron of the NBA playoffs.
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The underbelly of those questions centered less around the team and more about whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could have a fourth quarter that could anchor a legacy, delivered when the series threatened to slip away.
Questions like these rarely center around an entire franchise and more around if the star can lift the franchise on his slender shoulders, questions the presumptive Most Valuable Player answered resoundingly.
Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates erased a 12-point deficit, not with panic but poise, perhaps dishing out the knockout punch Tuesday in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets.
Considering the circumstances it was his biggest moment, scoring 20 of his 31 points in the second half of the Thunder’s 112-105 win at Paycom Center, outlasting Nikola Jokić in the fourth.
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All 10 of his fourth-quarter points came in the last 3:33, and all were critical. His first two field goals broke ties, and his final was a backbreaking 3-pointer with 47.4 seconds left to give the Thunder a 109-103 lead.
“It felt like, ‘it’s about time,’” said Gilgeous-Alexander, who was shooting just 21 percent from 3-point range coming into Game 5.
It wasn’t as simple and clean as a mano a mano for the top MVP candidates. Jokić, for all his greatness, couldn’t help his teammates summon anything. The only fourth-quarter bucket for a Nugget not wearing No. 15 came courtesy of a Jamal Murray layup when the game was already decided.
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All in all, the Nuggets went one of 15 when Jokić wasn’t shooting. His last ounce of goodness was a doozy, having picked up his dribble at the top of the key, spinning and releasing a crowd-quieting, game-tying triple over the arms of Chet Holmgren with 1:39 left.
It was the final salvo, another pristine performance gone without glory like so many others in the postseason. The 44 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists were not enough to outlast the Thunder.
It seemed like both teams knew what was at stake and delivered yet another competitive and aesthetically pleasing game. For long stretches, it didn’t feel like there was another series on the other side of the Western bracket. It felt like a deciding game with a trip to the Finals on the line — and maybe it was.
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“We knew coming into the game we were going to get a very, very potent version of (Jokić),” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “He was decisive and quick and forceful. … We have to understand going into Game 6 in Denver, this is a prideful team, a prideful player. That’s exactly what we’re getting.”
Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are in a trick bag of sorts. Every loss is some confirmation of the team’s collective immaturity, as proof they aren’t ready. Every win is dismissed until they advance beyond where they’ve been.
If they lose Game 6 in Denver, the pressure will shift — even though Oklahoma City will be back on its home floor, even though the Thunder have won 68 games this season.
But urgency is indeed calling.
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And trailing 90-81 with 10:10 remaining in the fourth, the ghosts of falling apart at this very game at this very stage from last season were alive and well.
Then the Nuggets dared Luguentz Dort room — too much room — and three straight triples sparked a comeback. Logic said leave him open, but perhaps he was ready for a moment in shaking off two poor offensive performances and a shaky start in this one.
“We had no choice. The game wasn’t going our way,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We always say the answer is never the hero play or anything out the ordinary, it’s being there for each other, playing with five on both ends.”
But this does fall at Gilgeous-Alexander’s feet, like Denver’s run stops and starts with Jokić.
Perhaps the Thunder predecessors of a decade ago weren’t truly ready to get to the Finals, but Kevin Durant was in 2012, and that’s why the Thunder advanced to their only June appearance. We all know the Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t ready for the NBA Finals in 2007, but 23-year old LeBron James pressed the fast-forward button on his development and sped to the front of the line.
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Neither Durant nor James had won the league’s most coveted individual award to that point, but they were ascending. Gilgeous-Alexander is expected to be the MVP when it’s announced and therefore accepts a hidden burden to lead this franchise to these NBA Finals.
“A lot of responsibility,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “For me first and foremost, winning is the end all be all. Whatever it takes to get that done, that’s what our minds is on. It’s not just me, it’s not just coach, it’s not just Sam (Presti), it’s across the locker room and that’s why we’ve been able to win basketball games this year.”
And they weren’t tested in many games this year, playing the fewest close games of any contender. When the eyes of the basketball world focused on Oklahoma City in the regular season, they were thrashed by the Los Angeles Lakers on a Sunday afternoon in early April, the first of a home-home series.
They shook off the whipping to come right back to deliver one of their own two days later, refusing to wallow in the temporary failure.
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“We don’t play to answer anybody,” Daigneault said. “We just play for one another, for our fans, the guys have an unbelievable connection in the locker room.”
Jalen Williams winced at the word “survive” but that’s what you do when Nikola Jokić delivers a 44-point, 15-rebound, 5-assist performance on your home floor. That’s what you do when Jokić shook off the worst three-game playoff stretch of his career — an expected development for an all-time great — to give nightmares to Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams.
But that’s the beauty perhaps in this Thunder team. Jokić wasn’t laboring as he was in Game 4 in Denver, but no one can deny the cumulative affect all the bodies being thrown his way have on him — in addition to the emotional weight he’s carrying as the franchise has gone through an inordinate amount of upheaval in the last few weeks.
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Sooner or later he was going to bounce back but also, it seemed like a matter of time before the 44 minutes took a toll.
“I think it’s our superpower and our team really embraces it,” Williams said. “Everybody is available, everybody’s ready to go and that gives guys a lot of confidence at the end of games.”
Meanwhile Jokić was looking around, unable to find many teammates to join the party, hoping upon hope this wasn’t the inevitable start of the Thunder’s party.
