By Daniel Paiz

There are games where it appears nearly everything is going well, and then it just unravels in the end. This Game 5 was pretty much like that in the fourth quarter. Nuggets fumble fourth quarter losing 112-15, now trail 3-2 going into Game 6. Effort was there for a solid three quarters, but interim coach David Adelman made some choices that likely added to the outcome.

Nikola Jokic scored an impressive 44 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and dished out five assists. Jamal Murray added 28 points, while Aaron Gordon scored 13 points and nabbed five rebounds. Game 6 is Thursday evening in Denver.

Game 5 Recap

First Quarter

Denver keeps trying the formula at the beginning to no avail. There isn’t enough passing, and Denver keeps taking hard threes instead of spacing the floor more; this leads to transition offense for OKC, as it’s 12-2 at the under eight timeout. A 14-13 OKC lead at 5:48 as Denver has rediscovered the Thunder are long, but they aren’t strong; attacking the rim is showing Denver can outmuscle them right now. A 28-27 Nuggets lead after one gives the fans an entertaining back-and-forth battle.

Second Quarter

A lineup of Murray, Gordon, Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, and Julian Strawther seems to be working better than expected as quick hands and aggressive defense has the Nuggets at a 35-31 lead. Right before the timeout at 6:46, Nikola Jokic might’ve just had his most highlight worthy play of the series. Jokic dribbles on the right-hand side of the floor, Jaylin Williams in tow. Jokic muscles into the paint, Williams is pushed aside by that, and Jokic watches him fall before essentially passing the ball off the backboard to himself and then scoring.

There are few times where you see Jokic stare someone down and finish a play like that as Denver leads 40-33 at this point. 3:08 remaining as Denver up 53-43, as the Nuggets are moving with the ball, keeps attacking the paint, and is doing a good job defensively making shots hard for OKC. OKC gets some calls that Denver doesn’t to end the half. Nuggets lead 56-54 as Jokic has 19 points and nine boards.

Third Quarter

13 points from Jamal Murray this quarter is fueling Denver’s continued scoring with an 80-68 lead midway through the third. Denver is mostly getting stops. Steady ball movement is still pretty fluid, which is leading to hitting their threes! Denver misses several shots but chases down the ball to get second chance opportunities at the 2:11 mark, 82-73 Nuggets. That kind of effort has granted them this lead. 86-78 Nuggets going into the fourth, Jokic has 31 points so far.

Fourth Quarter

The steady effort from both sides has these teams looking gassed at times, but Denver slowly prevails a little more with a 90-81 lead with 10:10 remaining. The movements are purposeful yet haggard. The Nuggets are falling into an old habit of looking for threes primarily, rather than attacking the rim. OKC is capitalizing and getting their own threes to fall, cutting the lead to 92-90 midway in the fourth.

Both teams aren’t really hitting, thus a 94-94 tie with four to go feels like a slog. Denver hasn’t scored for some time, they have to spread the floor more as they’re too stagnant right now. This doesn’t change as Jokic scores most of the fourth quarter points, and the defense permits good looks for OKC until the buzzer. Denver gives away Game 5 112-105, trails in the series 3-2.

Keys to Game 6

• Consistency

Consistent movement from Denver has been super effective in this game, as when they keep passing, they are getting into the paint. The Nuggets can overpower OKC around the rim, they just have to keep forcing the issue. Denver is winning the rebound battle 40-28 going into the fourth, which is essential in limiting the opponent while also granting your squad second chances.

However, they were outrebounded 15-9 in the final frame, adding to the open looks the Thunder hit. Energy might be low in the final quarter, but effort wins games. The Nuggets didn’t look ready to close the door and gave the one seed too many chances. That leads to the second key of Game 6.

• Coaching

David Adelman is still really new as the interim head coach. There are going to be mistakes made. However, there cannot be a repeat of this fourth quarter on Thursday. A decent chunk of the blame for this loss falls on Adelman. The substitutions he went with for three quarters partially led to that eight-point lead. There was no reason not to keep utilizing it for at least a third of the last quarter.

While Watson, Strawther, and Westbrook weren’t really scoring, their effort on defense and rebounding were key. Having the starters essentially play the entire fourth was a bad mistake that cost Denver a golden chance to steal Game 5. Adelman has to rotate guys the entire game, and if things are close, wait a bit longer into the fourth to just go with the starters.

Game 6 will show everyone if this lesson is learned, or if it’s something to reflect on for some time.

Bonus Content

Mile High Recap with Plumas Poetic returns with episode 12 right below.