Nikola Jokic, Nuggets Hold Off Paul George-Led Thunder Rally for Win

The Denver Nuggets may have just locked themselves into the Western Conference's No. 2 seed.

Nikola Jokic had 36 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds and Will Barton added 23 points, spurring the Nuggets' 121-112 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

The Nuggets have won five straight games and haven't lost at home since a Jan. 15 blowout by the Golden State Warriors. Denver is an NBA-best 27-4 at home.

The Thunder have lost three of their last four, including each of their last two games.

Denver held a sizable lead for most of the game, stretching it to as many as 18 points in the third quarter. The Thunder went on a torrid run at the end of the third and into the fourth, eventually taking a lead when Russell Westbrook's three made it 100-97 with 6:02 remaining. But that lead was short-lived, as the Nuggets scored eight of the game's next nine points and never trailed again.

Westbrook had 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Paul George, who spearheaded the comeback, had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Nuggets' Home-Court Advantage Could Carry Them to WCF

The Nuggets lost three straight home games in November.

They've lost one since.

Denver is 21-1 at home over that stretch, beating up on the NBA's worst and best alike along the way. The Nuggets have outscored opponents by 12.3 points per 100 possessions at home, the best mark in the league, per NBA.com, and they're only one of two teams to have a plus-10 differential (along with the Milwaukee Bucks).

This isn't a fluke. The Nuggets went 31-10 at home last season and are regularly among the NBA's best because of Denver's altitude. An opposing team flying cross-country while playing four games in seven nights isn't able to adjust as well.

The margin for error shrinks a bit in the playoffs, when teams will get a day of rest between games and can give their bodies time to get acclimated.

There is no clear second-best team in the West. The Nuggets have the second-best record, but they aren't battle-tested in the playoffs. Time and again, we've learned it rarely happens for teams in their first go-around together. The floor shrinks, rotations become tighter and strengths that the Nuggets rely on (like depth) become less important. They're far from guaranteed even to get out of the first round if they come up against the San Antonio Spurs or (stretching here) the Los Angeles Lakers.

But if the standings hold to form, the Nuggets will have home-court advantage in the first two rounds. That means a team has to come into Denver and get at least one win, if not two.

No other Western Conference team aside from the Golden State Warriors appear likely to pull that off.

What's Next?

The Nuggets host the Utah Jazz on Thursday. The Thunder host the Philadelphia 76ers.