The Oklahoma City Thunder regained control of their semifinal series with a critical 112-105 Game 5 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Despite Nikola Jokic’s heroics, Denver’s fourth-quarter collapse has become the big talking point of the game instead.
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Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic put on another tremendous performance, but couldn’t carry the Nuggets past the line. Even so, Denver wouldn’t have had a fighting chance if it weren’t for Jokic. The Thunder didn’t have a single answer for slowing him down.
In Game 4, Isaiah Hartenstein had managed to rise to the occasion, holding Jokic to 2-9 shooting when he defended him. That was far from the case in Game 5.
Jokic was absolutely sensational with 44 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting 68% from the field. Jamal Murray helped him out with 28 points, but the rest of the team failed to provide any offensive assistance.
But shouldering the team’s heavy offensive burden took a toll on Jokic. The Serbian center appeared tired, particularly in the later stages of the game.
ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a strong take regarding Jokic’s fitness and compared him poorly with LeBron James.
“Bron[LeBron James] gets tired at 40 years old and people question his greatness,” Perkins said. “But Jokic gets tired, and it’s he who needs more help. We gotta stop moving the goal post.”
Perkins was not alone in accusing the Joker of not being fit enough. However, fellow analyst Stephen A. Smith disagreed strongly with Perkins’ comments. He addressed the 2008 NBA champion’s view on a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take. He believes Jokic deserves a pass for the moments he doesn’t look invincible.
“You look at a guy like Jokic and dare I say, looking human, it catches you off guard,” Smith said. “Using LeBron James as the litmus test to make such an assertion, I disagree with him on that point.”
Smith believes Jokic has the right to express his fatigue. His teammates need to do better at alleviating the responsibilities that Jokic carries. A lot of the blame should fall on Denver’s supporting cast.
Brian Windhorst shared Smith’s sentiment regarding the lack of production from Jokic’s teammates. The seven-time All-Star’s fatigue didn’t cost the Nuggets the game, but his teammates’ disappearance in the fourth quarter did.
“The Nuggets lost last night because his teammates went a collective 1-15 in the fourth quarter,” Windhorst said.
It’s nearly impossible to win an NBA playoff game with that level of contributions, especially against a team as good as the Thunder. Denver has their work cut out for it if they have any hope of winning this series. Game 6 could have an ugly outcome for this current core.
