Exiting the court through the visitors’ tunnel, the Denver Nuggets made out like bandits. The Oklahoma City Thunder dropped Game 1 in a stunning 121-119 loss. After the first seed led most of the second half, Aaron Gordon scored the playoff game-winner from the outside.
The Thunder went to a prevent defense for the final three minutes against the Nuggets. They were burned for it as they gave up a Hail Mary connection in the endzone. In a game within the game, Chet Holmgren was the first to blink on his intentional free throws, which gave Denver enough time to steal a series lead.
Even though fans were devastated, the Thunder can’t afford to linger. They let Game 1 slip through their fingers, but they have to quickly shift their focus to Game 2 or risk losing this series already. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander understands that as OKC tries to move on and salvage these first two games with a split.
“It sucked for the first couple of minutes but after that, back to ourselves. Like I said, we didn’t expect our whole run to be sunshine and rainbows. We know that. It’s about how we respond,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on the locker room mood. “Nothing we can do about what just happened. There’s no point to have our head down or be sad about it or sulk about it. All we can do is be better for the next game.”
The Thunder’s importance for Game 2 has now increased tenfold. Flirting as a must-win scenario, they can’t afford to mimic the Cleveland Cavaliers and head to Denver down 0-2 in the Round 2 series. These are the pressures of the NBA playoffs.
“Should be good. Should be fun. We’re going to find out what we’re really made of. We couldn’t expect it to be smooth sailing this whole journey. No journey in life is and we know that. Today is a bump on the road,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Unexpected. Nobody expects to lose, especially that way. But it’s the game of life. It’s about how you respond to getting knocked down and that’s what we got to do next game.”
Welcome to the NBA playoffs. At this point, the final eight teams are the league’s finest. While a gut-punch, you can’t let Game 1 snowball to Game 2 or risk seeing one of the greatest regular season squads ever unravel.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: SGA says Thunder will know what they’re made of in Game 2 vs. Nuggets
Exiting the court through the visitors’ tunnel, the Denver Nuggets made out like bandits. The Oklahoma City Thunder dropped Game 1 in a stunning 121-119 loss. After the first seed led most of the second half, Aaron Gordon scored the playoff game-winner from the outside.
The Thunder went to a prevent defense for the final three minutes against the Nuggets. They were burned for it as they gave up a Hail Mary connection in the endzone. In a game within the game, Chet Holmgren was the first to blink on his intentional free throws, which gave Denver enough time to steal a series lead.
Even though fans were devastated, the Thunder can’t afford to linger. They let Game 1 slip through their fingers, but they have to quickly shift their focus to Game 2 or risk losing this series already. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander understands that as OKC tries to move on and salvage these first two games with a split.
“It sucked for the first couple of minutes but after that, back to ourselves. Like I said, we didn’t expect our whole run to be sunshine and rainbows. We know that. It’s about how we respond,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on the locker room mood. “Nothing we can do about what just happened. There’s no point to have our head down or be sad about it or sulk about it. All we can do is be better for the next game.”
The Thunder’s importance for Game 2 has now increased tenfold. Flirting as a must-win scenario, they can’t afford to mimic the Cleveland Cavaliers and head to Denver down 0-2 in the Round 2 series. These are the pressures of the NBA playoffs.
“Should be good. Should be fun. We’re going to find out what we’re really made of. We couldn’t expect it to be smooth sailing this whole journey. No journey in life is and we know that. Today is a bump on the road,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Unexpected. Nobody expects to lose, especially that way. But it’s the game of life. It’s about how you respond to getting knocked down and that’s what we got to do next game.”
Welcome to the NBA playoffs. At this point, the final eight teams are the league’s finest. While a gut-punch, you can’t let Game 1 snowball to Game 2 or risk seeing one of the greatest regular season squads ever unravel.
This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: SGA says Thunder will know what they’re made of in Game 2 vs. Nuggets
