Jokic said Oklahoma City still played the same kind of defense that bothered him in Games 2 through 4, when he shot just 33% from the field and 18.2% from 3-point range. He again mostly dealt with 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren, 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein and the rugged, energetic Jaylin Williams.

Not even an astounding performance from Nikola Jokić was enough to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 112-105 on Tuesday night to go up 3-2 in their Western Conference semifinal series. Oklahoma City overcame a 44-point, 15-rebound night from Denver’s Nikola Jokic. The Thunder can clinch the series on Thursday in Denver.

Denver was last in the league in 3-point attempts per game during the regular season (31.9), but that number has jumped to 38.5 3PA in the four contests against OKC. In their first-round series versus the LA Clippers, the Nuggets fired up an average of just 29.0 3PA across seven games.