
Nuggets shut Thunder down again, force game 6
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Thunder looked forward to advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year, and do it in front of their home fans.
The Denver Nuggets had other ideas.
After losing the first three games of the series the Nuggets have turned things around by winning two straight and will be back on their home court for game six, thanks to a 87-78 win in Oklahoma City.
Danilo Gallinari was limited with foul trouble in the Nuggets game 4 win, but he made up for it by scoring a team high 28 points and blocking three shots in game five. Al Harrington came off the bench to record a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"Gallo had a bunch of big 3s, Arron started knocking down 3s," Harrington said. "When they do that, it stretches the court, so it's easier to attack the basket. When they knock down shots, they make us all lot better."
Denver took control of the game in the first quarter, and though the Thunder were able to able to close the gap to one at halftime, the Nuggets used a strong third quarter to pull back ahead and ultimately get the win.
It seems as though all the injuries OKC has suffered this post-season are finally catching up with them.
Kevin Durant still managed to score 33 points but it took him 32 shots to do so. Russell Westbrook had his 2nd straight poor game with 14 points on 4-13 shooting.
Denver coach George Karl has done a great job making adjustments since game three by having his defense focus on shutting down paint and forcing the Thunder to beat with jump-shots.
Oklahoma City has not shot the ball particularly well in these playoffs, and hit just 3 of 16 three point shots in game 5.
The Thunder will have to put the series away on the Nuggets home court or face the possibility of being the first team to lose after leading a series 3-0 in game 7.
Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder | |||||
May 12, 2012 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | SCORE |
Denver | 24 | 14 | 28 | 21 | 87 |
Oklahoma City | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 78 |
Denver Nuggets | ||||||||||
STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
Nene. PF | 31 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
D. Gallinari, SF | 36 | 12-21 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 28 |
T. Mozgov, C | 23 | 2-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
A. Afflalo, SG | 37 | 3-6 | 2-3 | 2-2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
T. Lawson, PG | 32 | 0-7 | 0-3 | 7-8 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
A. Harrington, PF | 21 | 4-10 | 0-2 | 3-3 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
W. Chandler, SF | 20 | 4-7 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
R. Fernandez, SG | 18 | 3-6 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
A. Miller, PG | 24 | 2-8 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
C. Andersen, C | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TEAM TOTALS | 30-77 | 3-16 | 15-20 | 41 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 87 |
Oklahoma City Thunder | ||||||||||
STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
S. Ibaka, PF | 32 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
K. Durant, SF | 39 | 14-32 | 1-5 | 4-4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 33 |
K. Perkins, C | 25 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
T. Sefolosha, SG | 20 | 3-4 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
R. Westbrook, PG | 39 | 4-13 | 0-0 | 6-8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS |
J. Harden, SG | 26 | 3-12 | 0-4 | 2-2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
C. Douglas-Roberts, SF | 23 | 2-6 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
N. Collison, PF | 31 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
E. Maynor, PG | 10 | 0-4 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TEAM TOTALS | 33-78 | 8-23 | 13-15 | 49 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 78 |
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