Thunder Vs. Nuggets, Game 5: Oklahoma City Advances To Second Round With 100-97 Win

The best games keep you up at night. And after what Kevin Durant did Wednesday, single-handedly destroying the Denver Nuggets, it took a solid 90 minutes for me to fall asleep.

Naturally, the NBA Playoffs have been leaving just about everyone low on sleep these days. Not only do you stay to watch it all, but it’s been so exhilarating so often, it’s tough to just fall asleep afterward. But Kevin Durant took things a whole ‘nother level on Wednesday.

Durant’s first-round numbers are off the charts beyond the 32 points per game. Per Basketball Reference, his True Shooting percentage against Denver was .628 (ultra-elite, especially considering the high volume of shots he took), he had just seven turnovers all series; a combination of those numbers gave Durant an offensive rating of 133, which means if you give KD 100 possessions, you’ll get 133 points out of it. The league average is 107.

But as exciting and efficient as Durant has been, the reason Oklahoma City looks ready to tear down the Western Conference is because of their defense.

Denver, which blew a 91-82 lead in the final quarter, was led by Afflalo’s 15 points.

Be sure to check out our Thunder vs. Nuggets hub for full series coverage. For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City. For more on the Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs and SB Nation Denver.

With two quarters down and two to go, we’re tied at 50-50.

For the Nuggets, Kenyan Martin has 8 points while three others have 7. Denver is spreading the ball around and has 13 assists to show for it (compared to OKC’s 9).

Westbrook’s actually almost equally rad at home and on the road, though he (like everyone in the league, seemingly) draws more fouls at the Ford Center than abroad. The question will be -- per usual -- about OKC’s defense, and whether it can get the Denver backcourt back under control after a Game 4 outburst. Many picked this series as a barntorcher because the Nuggets had been so explosive on offense, and the Thunder remained unproven on defense. But Oklahoma City has done a good job preventing Denver from running much, and the Nuggets haven’t regularly shared the ball as well as they are capable of.

Be sure to check out our Thunder vs. Nuggets hub for full series coverage. For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City. For more on the Nuggets, visit Denver Stiffs and SB Nation Denver.