Thunder grows up in crunch time, proves it belongs on any NBA stage | Berry Tramel’s ScissorTales

Luguentz Dort, who usually plays with relentless fury but with the emotion of a Tibetan monk, grew quite animated after his flurry of 3-pointers was answered with a Denver timeout.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose 3-pointer with 47 seconds left put the game squarely under Thunder command, well, Gilgeous-Alexander remained calm. SGA always is under control.

But as the seconds ticked down and Game 5 of this rousing Western Conference semifinal series was recorded in the books, the Thunder seemed to have realized the ramifications. Not just the advantage over the Nuggets, which soon could lead to the West finals. But the yoke of youth and inexperience seemed to have lifted.

The questions were answered. The doubt removed. The Thunder proved Tuesday night that it belongs on any stage of basketball.

If Denver is going to knock out the Thunder, it will have to be administered by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. The Thunder won’t wilt on its own. The Thunder won’t cower in the bright lights.

With the game and likely the series on the line at Paycom Center, the Thunder played its best basketball of this Denver fortnight and beat the Nuggets 112-105.

Denver led 90-81 early in the fourth quarter. The game was tied at 103 in the final two minutes. The Thunder thrived with the former’s obstacle and stared down the pressure of the latter.

The critics were silenced in a game that had the neutrals raving and the locals celebrating.

“We don’t play to answer anybody,” Mark Daigneault said. “We just play for one another, for our fans. For a lot of that game we didn’t have our fastball but we hung around long enough and showed great will and connectedness down the stretch.”

The all-Thunder Thursday ScissorTales include a report card, a Q&A with Denver superstar Nikola Jokic and a listing of the most exciting playoff home wins in Thunder history. But we start with how this youthful gang grew up in Game 5.

This Thunder generation has had no deep playoff run, and this Thunder team was so dominating (68 wins, an NBA record for point differential) it rarely encountered crunch time. It’s NBA scripture that every team this side of the 1977 Portland TrailBlazers must pay its dues.

And it’s not like the Thunder assured everyone with its play in this series. A late collapse in Game 1. Uninspired play down the stretch of Game 3. Victory, without quality, in Game 4.

But the Thunder finish in Game 5 was pristine. OKC outscored Denver 31-15 in the final 8½ minutes. The Thunder scored on its final nine possessions and 13 of its final 16. The Nuggets scored just 19 fourth-quarter points, 13 of them by the wondrous Jokic.

“We’re getting better, honestly,” Dort said. “It was kind of hard this season to prepare for those type of moments. We didn’t have a lot of close games this season. But it’s happening in the postseason.”

Between a 12-2 start to the game, and early fourth quarter, Denver outscored the Thunder 88-69.

“Great job hanging in there,” Daigneault said. “We didn’t play great. Little sloppy in the first half. That was as loose as we’ve been defensively really since Game 1, maybe worse than Game 1. To hang in there the way we did and get back on track was impressive.”

The Thunder made nothing easy for the Nuggets while maintaining precise offensive execution. The Thunder closed quickly on shooters. Quickly spread the ball around the arc. The Thunder didn’t panic. Stayed organized. Looked like a team that knew what it was doing.

“We had no choice,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “The game obviously wasn’t going our way. The answer is never like a hero play. It’s being who we are. Trusting each other.”

It’s been a process. The Thunder occasionally has resorted to hero play. Has grown loose on crunch-time defense. Has seemed scared of the moment.

Not Tuesday night. Not in Game 5, the biggest Thunder game in the post-Kevin Durant era.

The Thunder might not win the NBA championship. But it won’t be because it’s not ready.

Report card: Hustle on the hardwood

The Thunder’s victory was hard earned. Which should make for quality grades in such a big game:

Hustle: A. Two plays flew under the radar in the final five minutes. Gilgeous-Alexander’s missed deep ball bounded awkwardly away from the masses and seemed headed out of bounds. But Dort chased down the ball and batted it with his left arm, and Williams beat Jamal Murray to the ball. Within a few seconds, Chet Holmgren had a layup that tied the game 94-94. With the Thunder up 106-103 and 1:10 left, a long shot by Denver’s Michael Porter also bounced toward the bench. The ball might have deflected off Dort, but Williams took no chances. He scampered to the sideline and also saved possession with a left-handed bat. That led to SGA’s 3-pointer. We knew the Thunder would have the energy edge, because of depth and youth, but OKC spiced it with hustle. It made a difference.

Daigneault rotations: A. Two rounds into the playoffs, and Daigneault continues to try new stuff. For the second straight game, he subbed out SGA in the first quarter. That almost never happens. But Gilgeous-Alexander sat for 3:43 of the first quarter, during which the Thunder outscored Denver 11-10, and allowed SGA to play the entire second quarter. Also, Daigneault was masterful in resting his players, primarily center Isaiah Hartenstein, who was tasked with guarding Jokic. With 7:58 left and the Thunder down 91-84, Daigneault inserted Jaylin Williams for Hartenstein. Seemed an odd time to rely on your undersized backup to bother Jokic. But it worked. When Hartenstein returned at 4:36, the Thunder had tied the game at 94, and the refreshed Hartenstein was better able to deal with the phenomenal Jokic. That last 4:36, the Thunder finished the game on an 18-11 run.

Crunch-time offense: A. In the first 3½ minutes of the fourth quarter, the Thunder scored three points. It went six straight possessions without scoring until Dort’s 3-pointer with 8:21 left. But from Dort’s basket to the end of the game, the Thunder scored on 13 of 16 possessions, produced 31 points and made 10 of 15 shots, with no turnovers. Dort was 3-of-4 from deep in that span. Gilgeous-Alexander was 3-of-4 from the field and scored 10 points.

Rebounding: C. The Nuggets hurt the Thunder early on the boards. Second-chance points were 9-2 in Denver’s favor the first half and would have been more, except the Nuggets made just four of their 11 shots after the initial shot of a possession. In one depressing possession in the third quarter, Denver missed four shots before Jokic dropped in a bucket, giving the Nuggets an 84-73 lead. But Denver had just four offensive rebounds the rest of the game, with two second-chance points. The Thunder rally included back-to-back second-chance points — the Holmgren layup off the Dort save, then a Hartenstein tip-in off a Holmgren miss.

Defending Murray: A. A variety of Thunder defenders held Murray to 10-of-27 shooting. Dort was assigned to Murray but occasionally switched off via screen. With Dort as the primary defender, Murray made three of eight shots, with one shooting foul. Cason Wallace and Caruso also helped in frustrating Murray.

Officiating: A. The crew of Zach Zarba, David Guthrie and Curtis Blair did a nice job. There were few obvious missed calls, and get this, neither coach challenged a call the entire game. The whistles didn’t dominate. The Nuggets had 13 foul shots, the Thunder 23, though four of those were intentional, in the final seconds.

The List: Best Thunder playoff home wins

Late Tuesday night, some younger members of the Thunder media corps were throwing out some major props. Best Thunder playoff game ever. Most exciting playoff game in Paycom Center.

But let’s settle down. The Thunder played fabulous games in the Kevin Durant/Russell Westbrook era. Here are five Thunder home wins that you might remember.

1. 2014 Clippers, Game 5: With the series tied 2-2, the Clippers dominated. They had a 13-point lead with four minutes to go. And OKC still trailed by seven with 50 seconds left. But Durant hit a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left and a layup with 0:18 to go. Suddenly, the Clipper lead was just 104-102. Then Westbrook stole the ball from Chris Paul, launched a 3-point shot and was fouled. With Durant sitting at the other end of the court with his back to the basket, Westbrook sank all three foul shots with six seconds left. Then Reggie Jackson stole the ball from Paul, and the Thunder had a 105-104 victory.

2. 2012 Mavericks, Game 1: The game featured 10 ties and 16 lead changes, but Dallas led 92-85 with three minutes left. Serge Ibaka had two 3-point plays in the final two minutes, the latter giving the Thunder the lead, 97-96, with 54 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki gave the Mavs the lead with nine seconds left, but Durant nailed a 15-footer with 1.5 seconds left to win it.

3. 2012 Lakers, Game 2: 12 ties, 18 lead changes. The Lakers scored just 12 fourth-quarter points. The Thunder scored just eight points the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter. The Lakers led 75-68 with two minutes left. But James Harden and Durant twice made back-to-back baskets, once around a Kobe Bryant turnover and once around a Kobe miss. When the Lakers’ Steve Blake missed from 3 with four seconds left, the Thunder had a grueling victory.

4. 2013 Grizzlies, Game 1: 12 ties, nine lead changes. Memphis led by nine points after three quarters, but the Thunder clawed back, and Durant made two jumpers in the final minute, the latter with 11 seconds left to give OKC the lead. Reggie Jackson’s two foul shots with 2.9 seconds left gave the Thunder a 93-90 lead, but Jackson fouled Quincy Pondexter on a 3-point shot with 1.6 seconds left. Pondexter missed the first foul shot, and the Thunder eventually won it 93-91.

5. 2011 Nuggets, Game 5: 17 ties, 19 lead changes. OKC trailed 91-82 with 3½ minutes left. But Durant scored 14 points of his 41 points in the final 3:23. His three-point play with 1:05 to go gave the Thunder a 96-95 lead. With the Thunder leading 100-97, Durant blocked a J.R. Smith 3-point shot with nine seconds left, then Denver’s Aron Afflalo missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Mailbag: Chet Holmgren

The Thunder victory had fans ready to relive the night.

Keith: “What a game last night! Among all the great plays, one that may have gone unnoticed for its impact was the (Chet) Holmgren block of (Jamal) Murray’s driving shot with 3:42 to go. Murray had got a bit of position on Dort, but when he put up the shot close to the rim, Holmgren got a piece of it and grabbed the deflection. The next time Murray drove, it looked like he had great position to make almost a layup, but instead he kicked it out and the shooter missed bad! It was like Murray was a bit intimidated. Murray only scored once more after that, when the outcome was all but decided.”

Berry: I agree. Holmgren was terrific. Between the block and the kickout, there actually was another Murray drive and another Holmgren block. Jokic followed it in for a basket, but the point remains. Holmgren made it difficult on late-game drives, as the Thunder energy roared.

Q&A: Nikola Jokic

Jokic had a game for the ages: 44 points, on 17-of-25 shooting, with 15 rebounds. His historical greatness is unassailable. Here is some of Jokic’s postgame press conference.

Q: What happened to the Nugget offense down the stretch?

Jokic: “Nothing. I think AG (Aaron Gordon) had the open look. I think Jamal (Murray) had the open look. MP (Michael Porter) had the open look. I don’t know. It’s not like we turned the ball over. I think we had the open looks, We just did not score in those moments.”

Q: What was the difference for you personally, after making just 21 of 63 shots the previous three games?

Jokic: “The ball was going in. I made five 3’s tonight. That helps, of course. I think the ball was going in. They (the Thunder) were still doing what they’re doing.”

Q: How confident are you for Game 6 in Denver on Thursday night?

Jokic: “We’re not going to go and just give Game 6. We’re playing in front of our crowd. I think only the second game was a blowout. Every other game was kind of an interesting game. We were there. I think we have a chance and we will play our best, hopefully.”

Q: You and Murray both played the entire fourth quarter. Was that your decision or coach David Adelman? Was fatigue a factor?

Jokic: “Doesn’t change. You don’t think about that, when you play. I felt good. I talked to DA (Adelman), he told me if you want to stay, stay. Did that change whatever? We had good looks, we had everything.”

Q: Do you enjoy games like this?

Jokic: “It’s not enjoyable (to lose), of course. But to be honest, every close game, every competitive game, it’s enjoyable for me. If it’s a playoff, if it’s first game of the season, whatever. I think I play the game every way the same way.”