OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points in three quarters, and the Oklahoma City Thunder set league and team records in a 149-106 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night that tied the Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.
Oklahoma City set an NBA playoff record for first-half points with 87, surpassing the 86 scored by the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 9, 2017. Chet Holmgren, who missed two critical free throws late in Game 1, made a pair with one second remaining in the second quarter to set the record and give the Thunder an 87-56 lead.
The Thunder tied the record for points in any half of a playoff game. Milwaukee had 87 in the second half against Denver on April 23, 1978.
“Basically it was one team playing tonight,” Denver center Nikola Jokic said.
The top-seeded Thunder wanted to avoid taking a 2-0 deficit on the road. Oklahoma City became the first home team to win a game in the second round. Game 3 is Friday in Denver.
“We knew what was at stake tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We came out desperate. We wanted to just take care and control the things that we knew we could. And we did a pretty good job of that, specifically to start the game. The start carried us through the rest of the night.”
Gilgeous-Alexander made 11 of 13 field goals, all 11 of his free throws and had eight assists. He led eight players who scored in double figures.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander did much more than score.
“He made them pay when they overhelped on him,” Daigneault said. “He had the ball ahead of them all night, so he got his teammates shots, too. It wasn’t just a one-man show. He was super efficient. I mean, he had an unbelievable blend tonight.”
Jokic, who had 42 points and 22 rebounds in a Game 1 win, had just 17 points and eight rebounds on Wednesday before fouling out late in the third quarter.
Russell Westbrook led the Nuggets with 19 points. Oklahoma City’s crowd cheered for the ex-Thunder star when he entered Game 1 as a reserve, but the fans changed their approach and booed him shortly after he entered Game 2. Westbrook got called for a technical foul moments later, and Gilgeous-Alexander made the free throw to make it 34-13.
The Thunder led 45-21 at the end of the first quarter after shooting 71.4% from the field and setting a team record for points in a quarter in a playoff game.
“We got punked, and we didn’t play well enough and they came out with the right intensity,” Denver interim coach David Adelman said. “We didn’t.”
Oklahoma City continued its dominance in the second quarter. A lob from Gilgeous-Alexander to Jalen Williams for a two-handed jam gave the Thunder a 78-43 lead.
Oklahoma City led 124-76 after three quarters. The largest lead was 49 points.
Adelman said he wouldn’t minimize the loss, even though the Nuggets head back to Denver with home-court advantage.
“I’m not sitting here tonight talking about the 1-1 thing tonight,” he said. “Not tonight. We’re not going to flush that. We’ve got to be better. We know that. That being said, it’s nice to know that you got a win underneath your belt.”
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