SGA Says Thunder 'Had No Choice' But to Make 4th Quarter Comeback vs. Jokic, Nuggets

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander provided some insight into OKC's fourth-quarter comeback on Tuesday night, which pushed the Denver Nuggets to the brink of elimination.

Speaking to reporters after the Thunder's 112-105 win over the Nuggets in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series to take a 3-2 series lead, SGA said the following about overcoming an eight-point deficit entering the fourth quarter:

"We had no choice. The game obviously wasn't going our way. But we always say the answer is never a hero play or anything out of the ordinary. It's being who we are. It's trusting each other playing with all five on both ends. Whatever the problem is, we can fix it with the collective effort."

The Nuggets came to play Tuesday night on the road, as they led by two points at halftime and extended that lead to eight by the time the third quarter ended.

However, the Thunder stormed back in the fourth quarter, out-scoring the Nuggets 34-19 to win a pivotal Game 5 matchup.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for the Thunder with 31 points, seven assists and six rebounds, but it was unheralded role player and defensive ace Lu Dort who truly got OKC back in the game.

Dort hit three trifectas in a two-minute span to shrink the Denver lead from nine to two with 6:20 remaining, and Gilgeous-Alexander took over from there, scoring 10 points in the final 3:33.

SGA and the Thunder spoiled an other-worldly effort from three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, who led all scorers with 44 points on 17-of-25 shooting, and added 15 rebounds and five assists.

Aside from Jamal Murray and his 28 points, Jokić did not receive much help from his teammates, though.

Only one other Nuggets player scored in double figures, while Michael Porter Jr. finished with two points on 1-of-7 shooting and Christian Braun had eight points on 3-of-12 shooting.

Meanwhile, all five Thunder starters scored in double figures, and Alex Caruso added 13 points off the bench as well.

All told, the Thunder shot 50 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from beyond the arc, while the Nuggets shot only 41.2 percent from the floor and 28.3 percent from deep, which ended up being the difference.

The Thunder are now one win away from their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2016, and they will have a chance to close it out in Game 6 in Denver on Thursday night.