Full Focus: SGA and Jokić clash in battle of MVP favorites
OKLAHOMA CITY — There was the predictable, unmistakable, hopelessly biased and perhaps accurate chant of “M-V-P” banging inside Paycom Center whenever he went to the free throw line Sunday. This was of course meant for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander but maybe there was another intended target as well.
Maybe they were meant for Nikola Jokić to hear, too, because the two-man chase, if that’s how you still wish to describe the pursuit of the award this late into the season, went Shai’s way for the moment if not for good.
One player, as is his custom, spent the day dropping jumpers from the elbow. The other had ice applied to his elbow.
And so, is that a wrap? Shai looked every bit the part of a Kia MVP as he met the challenge, cracked 40 points for the third straight game (and 40th game with 30-plus points) this season while directing the Thunder to yet another victory — OKC is now 52-11 and virtually uncatchable as the top seed in the West.
Meanwhile, Jokić labored with a reinjured right elbow that stole his shooting accuracy and, given his obvious value to the Nuggets, denied any chance of Denver making this game intriguing.
Here are five takeaways from OKC’s 127-103 win and the MVP race that fell shy of the buildup:
1. Jokić takes a tumble, no longer rumbles
Less than two days prior, Jokić delivered another one of his never-been-done-before performances. This was the epic 30-20-20 game — points, rebounds, assists — that reminded everyone about his season and set up this interesting back-to-back set of games with OKC and Shai.
All was well for the Joker, who was off to a hot start … until he absorbed a late first-quarter foul by Isaiah Hartenstein that sent him falling on an elbow that was previously problematic.
From there, Joker wasn’t the same, misfiring on 3-pointers (seven straight at one point) and free throws. A 57% shooter made only 10 of 23 from the floor and more revealingly, 2 of 6 from the line. Everyone knew the elbow was an issue, except Jokić.
“It’s sore, but it’s fine,” he said, dismissing any excuse.
While he probably had limitations that could’ve been minimized against lesser teams, OKC shows no mercy. This team was partially constructed by team president Sam Presti to combat such a dangerous big man as the three-time MVP.
When Hartenstein, a solid rebounder and low-post defender, was signed last summer, obviously it was done with Jokić in mind. So there’s Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren, a pair of seven-footers, plus Jaylen Williams, whose 3-pointers forced Jokić away from the paint, to make life uncomfortable.
“We have that luxury,” said OKC coach Mark Daigneault. “We were able to throw different guys on him. It was a team effort by our defense.”
Without a quality backup, Jokić is forced to log heavy minutes and avoid foul trouble, and this situation was compounded Sunday by …
2. No go for Gordon
When playing against a team loaded with height, the Nuggets need forward Aaron Gordon to give them some physicality and presence, especially defensively, to relieve Jokić from the load.
But that evaporated just seven minutes in when Gordon left with right calf tightness, attaching yet another ailment to a season full of them.
Any examination of the poor defense shown by the Nuggets this season can be traced to Gordon’s unavailability. He has played in only 37 of 64 games, forcing the Nuggets to scramble to assign replacements to guard top scorers and rebounders when he sits.
With a rematch against OKC set for Monday, Gordon could miss yet another game, or be limited should he play. When he misses games there’s a domino effect — Zeke Nnaji gets increased minutes and Jokić often must offer double teams in the paint, leaving his man open.
Mainly, though, the Nuggets’ defense becomes that much weaker; they’re surrendering the second-most points among the top 10 teams record-wise in the West standings.
3. Shai sizzles yet again
Well, let’s get right to it — Shai once again strengthens his case for the award while doing the same for the perception that OKC is the team to beat.
He dropped his 40 in 35 minutes and chipped in eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks — one of them on Jokić. Again, Shai’s fingerprints were left at both ends.
Most vividly is how his points come in the flow of the game. He rarely forces shots. He looks for his spot. He identified what the Nuggets’ defense offered him and took it — snatched it, actually.
Shai has 20 or more points in 58 straight games. The consistency and efficiency continues for the league’s scoring leader.
Even Jokić handed him flowers.
“He doesn’t complicate things,” he said. “He knows what he needs to do. He’s leading the team and he’s really good for them.”
4. The gap between teams just mushroomed
The Nuggets are in a virtual tie for second place in the West which sounds respectable in theory but the reality screams something else.
It’s a 12-game lead over the Nuggets (and Lakers) for OKC and it seems even bigger. That’s because the Thunder have the MVP leader (according to the Kia MVP Ladder), are elite defensively, can win games without Shai and offer up another All-Star in Jalen Williams.
All of that was evident Sunday in their breezy 24-point win over a “contender.” Oklahoma City can rest Shai a lot more than the Nuggets can Jokić because Williams (26 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) can assume the first-option role and the bench goes five deep. This makes OKC slump-proof, meaning, if two or three players struggle, not to worry, the next man up is ready to take the stairs.
And even when things go wrong … Lu Dort missed a breakaway dunk, OKC collected the loose ball, which found its way to Dort for a 3-pointer. Sometimes it just works out.
5. Joker needs help
Too often this season either Michael Porter Jr. or Jamal Murray — or sometimes both — simply disappear. Their impact is minimal and it adds stress to Jokić, who still has yet to have a teammate in his prime make the All-Star Game or All-Defensive team.
Porter was effective in stretches Sunday (24 points, 15 rebounds), less so for Murray (he missed 11 of 17 shots). With Gordon on the bench for good after one quarter, their contributions, or lack of them, become heightened.
There were times when Murray found himself in a dogfight … with Dort for second-best Canadian on the floor. That’s Murray, who once won a championship and signed a max contract last summer. That’s Dort, who was undrafted.
So here’s the situation for Denver: Jokić has only hours to recover from a bum elbow before the next game, possibly without Gordon.
Great as he has been this season, he cannot win the MVP by himself. His teammates must win it for him — if that’s even possible after Sunday.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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