On December 30, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a key matchup, and the Nuggets faced the Thunder at home. Previously, the Thunder had a record of 20 wins and 9 losses, ranking third in the West, the team's offensive and defensive efficiency was among the top six in the league, the average steals and blocks per game were the top three in the league, the shooting percentage was third in the league, and the average points per game were fifth in the league. Jokic and Antetokounmpo Holmgren averaged 17.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game in the rookie season, with no offensive corners, active defensive coverage, and super high key shooting efficiency. Forward Jayway, who averaged 18.3 points + 52% + 42% per game this season, is based on defense and continues to improve on the offensive end, and the 22-year-old Jayway has a limitless future!
The Nuggets had a previous record of 23 wins and 10 losses, ranking second in the West, and interestingly, the Nuggets had a 13-2 home record this season, losing two games, one against the Rockets, and one against the Thunder two weeks ago, losing by one point. As last season's champion, the Nuggets have reduced the thickness of their roster this season, and Gordon has been bitten by a dog and is out indefinitely, the team situation is very unfavorable, but Jokic leads the team to a high ceiling. In the latest edition of the MVP rankings, Jokic ranked second for three consecutive weeks, and Embiid has always occupied the first position. Nuggets starters: Murray + Pope + Porter + Watson + Jokic.
Thunder starters: Alexander + Keady + Dort + Jewe + Holmgren. At the beginning of the game, the Thunder was dominated by anti-visitors, Holmgren hit consecutive three-pointers, Porter scored a jumper, and Holmgren threw and hit again in the face of Jokic! Porter stopped the bleeding with three points, Holmgren threw himself and grabbed himself, and won the first 10 points of the team! In the middle of the game, Jewe and Alexander took turns to play singles, Jokic continued to train Holmgren, plus Porter's three-pointers, and the Nuggets quickly caught up with the score. Holmgren flew to Pope's dunk, and then combined with Keady to score consecutive throws, and the Nuggets relied on Pope's three-pointer and Jokic's one-on-one response. In the second half, the Thunder bench suddenly made a force, Wiggins hit three points, Alexander made consecutive kills, and the Nuggets bench did nothing.
At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder led the Nuggets 33-27. Back in the second quarter, Strausser and Holmgren continued to compete on three-pointers, and Wallace counterattacked to halt the Nuggets. Jordan Jr. scored four points in a row to stop the bleeding, but Kenway and Alexander opened up the gap again. In the second half, Jokic and Murray hit consecutive three-pointers, but the Nuggets made frequent mistakes, and no one restrained Alexander, so the Nuggets did not have an advantage in the positional battle. At the end of the quarter, Keady threw and scored, Dort hat Murray, Keady quickly counterattacked, at the end of the half, the Thunder led the Nuggets 54-48, Jokic scored 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Holmgren on the Thunder side 17 points and 5 rebounds, Alexander 18 points and 3 rebounds. The Nuggets bench is a little out of the game, and the Thunder impact is too strong.
At the beginning of the second half, Porter and Watson made layups to chase points, Keady missed the bullet and led the team to take the lead after being blocked, and Holmgren faced Jokic with super efficiency. The two teams were deadlocked in the first half, but the Thunder began to break out in the middle of the period, Alexander took turns to eat Murray and Pope, Jay Wei jumped, Alexander chased three points, and the Nuggets instantly fell behind by 15 points! After the Thunder opened a 20-point difference, Alexander continued to shoot without a solution to the jump shot + counterattack dunk, and the Nuggets relied on Strauser and Murray to play sporadically singles, and at the end of the third quarter, the Thunder led the Nuggets 88-68! Alexander is too strong, and he still averages 2.8 steals per game on the defensive end, integrating offense and defense.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Watson and Bryan led the team to chase points, Holmgren hatted Murray, Dort counterattacked, and Kenway and Jewe rained three-pointers, and the difference was more than 20 points again! Reggie and Murray shot inside and out, and the Nuggets never gave up their efforts. At the decisive moment, Alexander scored a step-back jumper, and Holmgren's three-point shot completely killed the suspense of the game! In the end, the Nuggets lost 93-119 to the Thunder at home, and after this game, the Thunder returned to second place in the West, and the Nuggets fell to third in the West!
Nuggets statistics, Jokic 19 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 turnovers, Murray 9 points and 11 assists, Watson 14 points, Porter 12 points and 6 rebounds, Pope 8 points, Reggie 8 points and 3 assists. Thunder statistics, Alexander 14 of 20, 40 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, Holmgren 24 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Keady 1 point, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Jay 11 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists. In this game, Jokic was really blown up by Holmgren, making frequent mistakes, and constantly being consumed of physical energy, and the Nuggets couldn't prevent Alexander.