Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gathered himself as he called for the ball near halfcourt.
The superstar guard was in a slow jog, trying to conserve whatever energy he had left down the stretch of a hard-fought Game 4 between OKC and Denver on Sunday.
Gilgeous-Alexander had battled for every inch of open space. He’d battled for every bucket. He’d battled in hopes of avoiding falling behind 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.
And as the Thunder clung to a two-possession lead with just over two minutes remaining, Gilgeous-Alexander made his move. He drove into the heart of the Nuggets’ defense for a layup, which served as the dagger in OKC’s 92-87 road win.
OKC and Denver are now tied 2-2 in the second-round playoff series. Here are four more takeaways from the game:
OKC, Denver deliver lowest scoring first quarter in NBA history
Maybe it was fatigue from a grueling overtime battle in Game 3. Maybe it was the nerves of playing in a pivotal Game 4. Or maybe too many doors of Ball Arena were left open, bringing in a breeze.
Whatever the reason was, both teams got off to a slow start. OKC held a 17-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, which tied for the lowest combined first-quarter points (25) in NBA playoff history.
The Nuggets went 2 for 22 from the field (9.1%) and 0 for 14 from deep. The Thunder went 6 for 22 from the field (27.3%) and 1 for 11 from deep (9.1%).
Some of those misses were because of superb defense. Jalen Williams set the tone early on by stealing the ball from Aaron Gordon, and he blocked a Michael Porter Jr. 3-pointer a few possessions later.
But other misses came without a defender in sight, and the highly anticipated contest became hard to watch.
Thunder kept Nuggets alive with free throws in the first half
Gilgeous-Alexander swiped and shoved as he tried to deny Christian Braun the ball with 8:02 left in the second quarter.
By the time Braun attempted to catch the pass, he was practically giving Gilgeous-Alexander a piggyback ride.
Even in these playoffs, where physicality has been welcomed by officials, crew chief Tony Brothers had no choice but to call a foul. It was yet another one on OKC, which couldn’t stay out of the whistle’s way.
Denver went 17 for 20 (85%) from the free-throw line in the first half alone. It attempted more free throws than 2-pointers (16).
Those freebies helped the Nuggets stay within striking distance despite struggling to knock down shots. They went 8 for 38 from the field (21.1%) and 3 for 22 from deep (13.6%) in the first half but only trailed 42-36 at the midway point.
Young Thunder comes up clutch
OKC’s lack of experience has been glaring down the stretch of close games these playoffs.
The Thunder entered Sunday with a 2-2 record in clutch games, according to NBA.com. It posted an offensive rating of just 82.9 in those situations, which ranked 13th out of the 16 playoff teams, and it ranked 14th in effective field goal percentage (29.6%).
But as OKC trailed 73-66 with 10:57 left in Game 4, on the verge of falling behind 3-1 in the series, it finally came up clutch.
The Thunder responded with a 10-0 run to claim a three-point lead, and its bench played a key role in the scoring spree. Cason Wallace connected on two 3-pointers during the run, while Aaron Wiggins added a triple of his own.
Nikola Jokic then sank a mid-range jumper to trim OKC’s lead to 79-78 with 5:09 remaining. But the Thunder responded once again, and this time Gilgeous-Alexander led the way by sinking back-to-back mid-range shots.
OKC avoided the dreaded 3-1 series deficit
This was practically a must-win game for OKC.
A loss would’ve put the Thunder in a 3-1 series hole, which only a handful of teams have managed to dig their way out of.
A total of 293 teams have trailed 3-1 throughout playoff history. Only 13 of them, just 4.4%, came back to win the series.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25 points, six rebounds and six assists. Wallace and Wiggins scored 11 points apiece off the bench.
Game 5 is set for 8:30 p.m. CT Tuesday in Oklahoma City (TNT).
Justin Martinez covers sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Justin? He can be reached at jmartinez@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @JTheSportsDude. Support Justin’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.