Nuggets Are 2-5 In Playoff Games Where Nikola Jokic Scores 40+ Points

Nikola Jokic posted his seventh career playoff game with at least 40 points in the Denver Nuggets’ 112-105 Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night. The Nuggets are now 2-5 in those games.

Nuggets Are Disappointing Nikola Jokic

Denver has also lost three of its last four playoff games where Jokic has not rested in the fourth quarter, despite leading in all but one of those games entering the final frame.

Oklahoma City overcame a 44-point, 15-rebound outing from Jokic. The three-time MVP made 17-of-25 (68%) shots from the floor and 5-of-7 (71.4%) from 3-point range.

Nikola Jokić becomes the 8th player in NBA history to record 40+ points and 15+ rebounds multiple times in a single postseason series joining…

Wilt Chamberlain (4x)
Shaquille O’Neal (2x)
Elgin Baylor (2x)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Hakeem Olajuwon
Charles Barkley
Bob McAdoo pic.twitter.com/M1QwcaYVUk

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) May 14, 2025

Jamal Murray added 28 points, but he made just 10-of-27 shots. No other Denver player scored more than 13 points. The Thunder can clinch the series in Game 6 on Thursday in Denver.

“This is a really disappointing loss,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “The guys in there should be disappointed. It’s a heavy loss and we have to bounce back quickly to win Game 6 and give ourselves a chance to come back, have a game like this, but finish it.”

Jokic Missed A Lot Of Shots In Games 3 And 4

To be fair, Jokic also hasn’t played his best this series. Prior to Game 5, he was shooting just 21-of-63 (33.3%) from the field and 4-of-22 (18.2%) from 3-point range over the previous three games.

Jokic shot less than 40% just once during the regular season. Two of his four worst shooting performances of his 91 career playoff games came in Games 3 and 4 in Denver.

“It’s a little bit of everything,” Jokic said of the reasons behind his poor shooting. “They’re playing really good defense on me. They’re really getting into my body, handsy, physical. … And they’re shrinking the floor for me. I need to do a better job, of course, but it’s part of the game.”

Thunder Outscored Denver 34-19 In Fourth Quarter Of Game 5

In Game 5, Denver rallied and led by 11 in the second quarter, but Oklahoma City battled back to trail 56-54 at halftime. Jokic had 19 points and nine rebounds before the break.

Murray scored 13 points in the third quarter and Jokic added 12 to help the Nuggets take an 86-78 lead into the fourth. However, the Thunder outscored them 34-19 in the final period.

“It felt like every time we had a chance to go back up 12, or get it back at 14, we wouldn’t make the shot and they’d run out and make a basket or score in transition,” Adelman said. “So it compounded itself.”

Jokic hit a deep fadeaway 3-pointer to tie the game at 103 before the Thunder closed it out. Jalen Williams’ 3-pointer with 1:18 remaining gave OKC a 106-103 lead, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s three with 48 seconds left extended the team’s lead to six.

Denver hosts the Thunder in Game 6 on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET.