Nuggets blow massive chance, collapse in fourth quarter of Game 4

The Denver Nuggets were up 73-66 in Game 4 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday with 10:57 to go.

And then they fell apart.

This series is now tied 2-2, after the Nuggets blew a massive chance to take a stranglehold on this thing. Instead OKC walked away with a 92-87 win and left Ball Arena stunned.

Denver played an unbelievable third quarter, outscoring the Thunder 33-21. Unfortunately, they went cold in the final frame and will fly back to Oklahoma in an absolute dogfight.

Nikola Jokic finished with 27 points, but shot just 7-22 from the field. He also missed two crucial free throws late. Jamal Murray and Christian Braun both added 17, but Michael Porter Jr. was a ghost once again, scoring a lousy three points. Russell Westbrook went just 2-12 off the bench, tallying six points.

The Nuggets almost overcame an impossibly slow start, but couldn’t get it done in the end.

The first half was a strange one, and it’s almost like giving the Nuggets and Thunder 36 hours between Games 3 and 4 was a bad idea. Denver scored just eight points in the first quarter on 2-22 shooting. Oklahoma City had only 17, and the 25 combined points was tied for the lowest in the first quarter in NBA playoff history.

The first 12 minutes also marked the fewest points the Mile High City team had put up in a playoff quarter in the history of the franchise. They looked tired and slow to begin the afternoon — there’s no way to sugarcoat it.

Overall, at the break, the Nuggets had made just eight shots. They were aggressive and able to get to the foul line, as nailing 17-20 free throws kept them in it. Jokic hit a three, essentially at the buzzer, to cut the margin to 42-36. Denver was lucky to only be down by six points at the half given how poorly they played.

And after the third quarter, Denver fans were dreaming of a 3-1 series lead. But an uninspired fourth cost them in a massive way. The series isn’t over, but the task just got a lot harder.

Game 5 is on Tuesday night, and whoever takes that will be in the driver’s seat. That could’ve been the Nuggets, but a bad finish spoiled what had a chance to be a great day.

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