NBA Fans Applaud SGA, Thunder as Game 4 Win vs. Jokic, Nuggets Ties Series at 2-2

The second-round series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets is now a best-of-three affair.

OKC evened the series at two games apiece with a 92-87 victory in Sunday's Game 4 at Ball Arena. The defensive struggle featured a number of swings and turns, but the visitors used a strong fourth quarter to eventually pull away.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played like an MVP when he needed to with 25 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals, while Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins and Alex Caruso provided important sparks off the bench. In fact, SGA was the only Thunder starter to score more than 10, but they still had enough in large part because of their defensive effort.

Nikola Jokić notched a double-double of 27 points, 13 rebounds and four steals, but it wasn't enough to take a 3-1 lead.

Social media praised the victors in the aftermath:

Denver entered Sunday's contest with the momentum and series lead, but this was a swing game for both sides. It had a chance to put the Western Conference's top seed on the brink of elimination, while the Thunder could take back home-court advantage and prove their Game 2 blowout win was more indicative of this matchup than narrow losses in Games 1 and 3.

Perhaps both sides felt the pressure of those stakes in the early going because the first quarter was downright putrid.

The two teams combined to score 25 points and shoot 1-of-25 from deep in those opening 12 minutes as Denver didn't even reach single digits with eight. To be fair, OKC's defense deserved some credit as it pressured ball-handlers on the perimeter, darted into passing lanes, protected the rim and swarmed Jokić.

It could only get better from there since the 25 combined points tied for the fewest in a first quarter in playoff history. And it did with Christian Braun providing secondary scoring and Jokić playing with more aggression, including when he drained a last-second three to cut the halftime deficit to 42-36.

The jumpers finally started to fall for the Nuggets in the third quarter, and threes from Braun, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon gave them the lead. By the time Russell Westbrook hit one and then shut down SGA in the final minute of the third before they took a six-point lead into the fourth, it was clear the terrible first quarter was firmly in the rearview mirror.

OKC wouldn't go away, though, and its depth shone through in the fourth when Wallace and Wiggins hit clutch three-pointers as Caruso played stifling defense to retake the lead and set the stage for a dramatic finish.

Ultimately, Gilgeous-Alexander was the difference-maker in that finish.

He hit a floater and midrange, assisted on a key Jalen Williams basket, and hit another important driving layup in the final minutes to create the separation the Thunder were missing for much of the contest.

As a result, the Western Conference's top seed now has home-court advantage and momentum back on its side heading into Tuesday's Game 5.