In one of the most awaited NBA matchups of this weekend, Oklahoma City beat Denver 127-103 on Sunday in the first of a two-game series between the two best teams in the Western Conference, which also happened to feature the league’s leading MVP candidates.
The game was extremely contested until the fourth quarter, when the Thunder started off with a 9-0 run until they sealed the win. OKC ended up outscoring their rivals by 21 points in the final stage, mostly led by their superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who posted 40 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Late in the fourth, the Canadian dropped seven-straight points against the Nuggets in a 1:20 time span. Unbelievably, this was the point guard’s 11th 40-point performance of the current campaign, as he seeks to earn his first-ever MVP award.
Despite having clear chance at conquering this accolade, the Thunder star wishes his team’s overall success over individual recognition. “I love MVPs, I love All-Stars, I love all the accolades that comes with it but none of it matters if you don’t win and that’s where I hang my hat,” Shai said after his squad’s victory.
As for Nikola Jokic, who is also contesting for his fourth league MVP, contributed with an impactful 24 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists, but struggled with his shooting efficiency. In the first quarter, he seemed to tweak his right elbow and never seemed to shot as precisely as we’ve grown accustomed to.
The Serbian was coming off a historic overtime 149-141 win against the Suns at Ball Arena on Friday, posting an unbelievable 31 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 22 assists. With this performance, the Serbian continued to cement himself as one of the main frontrunners for this year’s MVP title.
As for his coach Michael Malone, he ran out of words to praise his All-Star center. “Nikola Jokić is one of one. I mean, the first player to ever have a 30, 20, and 20 game. I can’t describe him, so don’t ask me to,” said the Nuggets tactician.
