The Nuggets are on the brink of elimination after a 12-point lead in the second half disappeared in Oklahoma City.

Nikola Jokic, the three-time MVP center for the Denver Nuggets, has struggled for much of the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After he had 42 points and 22 rebounds in a Game 1 win, he shot under 40% in each of the next three games.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the youthful Oklahoma Thunder are on the verge of making the franchise’s first appearance in the Western Conference finals since 2016.

That is how Aaron Gordon reacted to Nikola Jokic fouling out in the third period for the first time in his career. That it came in Game 2 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the top-seeded Thunder made it even more exasperating.

Jokic's performance placed him alongside Jayson Tatum in an unfortunate statistical category: only three players in NBA playoff history have recorded at least 15 rebounds and missed 10 or more three-pointers in a single game—the third player being Paul George in 2017.

But the Thunder's second-round series against the Denver Nuggets was never going to be easy, especially given Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic and Denver's overall experience. With the series tied at 2 heading into Tuesday's Game 5 of their Western Conference series in Oklahoma City,