Since a monstrous Game 1 to lead the Denver Nuggets to a win, Nikola Jokic has looked human over the last three playoff games against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In his last three games, Jokic has averaged 21.3 points on 33.3% shooting, 12.3 rebounds and five assists. He’s shot a putrid 4-of-22 from 3. The three-time MVP winner was carried by his teammates to a Game 3 overtime win, but faced little scrutiny because of the result.
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Jokic wasn’t afforded the same luxury for Game 4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out-dueled him among the MVP finalists. He finished with 25 points and hit on some timely buckets down the stretch to get a close playoff win to tie the Round 2 series at 2-2.
This has been one of Jokic’s worst career stretches. The Thunder’s league-best defense has made him uncomfortable. Isaiah Hartenstein can bang with him down low while Chet Holmgren’s rim protection forces him to second-guess on his decisions near the rim.
“It’s a little bit of everything. They’re playing really good defense on me. They’re really into my body. Handsy, physical. I think I missed two of three open looks tonight,” Jokic said. “It’s a little bit of everything. They’re shrinking the floor for me. They’ve got a guy behind the defender. I need to do a better job of course, but it’s part of the game.”
The outside shot hasn’t fallen either. Jokic isn’t as dangerous a scorer without the outside looks. The Nuggets will need him to play like an MVP finalist the rest of the way if they want to pull off the historic upset over the Thunder.
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For the Thunder, the formula for a long playoff run was to rely on their historic defense. It’s worked out so far against Jokic. Shutting him off has forced the rest of Denver to step up or risk elimination. If they can continue to force the league’s best player to look pedestrian, that’ll help their odds of making the Western Conference Finals.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Nikola Jokic credits Thunder’s defense for Nuggets’ Game 4 struggles