Perk says OKC has things to figure out after Game 3 loss to Denver 👀 | SC with SVP

Perk says OKC has things to figure out after Game 3 loss to Denver 👀 | SC with SVP

Perk, you went through some of these, right? The intensity and the the toughness that was on display on both sides, man. I just I want to just start with that. As you’re watching that, having lived through it, what stands out about the kind of fight that both these teams put on display? Oh, Scott, it was a it was a beautiful thing to see. It was a brawl for it all on both ends of the floor. And I know, you know, we gonna dive into the actual game and the players, but let me say this. The Denver Nuggets, they buckled and strapped down defensively. They grinded this one out tonight on the defensive side of things. We know OKC is known for their defense, but we got a tip I had to the Denver Nuggets, how scrappy they played, how engaged they were, tied on the string. Christian Brown was phenomenal tonight on SGA. I thought Jokic moved those feet all night long in the pick and roll. It was beautiful to watch the Denver Nuggets play with that type of intensity defensive. You know what I noticed a lot of Perk as this game wore on. And you know, look, they put 5280 on the floor for a reason. You’re playing at elevation and a lot of shots were short late and could have been a million things. could have been the defense of Denver, but particularly in overtime, it looked like that needle on the gas tank for the Thunder was was damn near on E. Did you see the same thing? Oh, absolutely. And that’s the advantage that the Nuggets have, right? Like they feel like if they once they get you to the fourth quarter and the game is close that they have that homecourt advantage of the altitude, but I’m going to tell you this, Scott, they did an excellent job of loading up on SGA and saying somebody else got to beat us late in the fourth quarter. And we saw when the pressure when it got in those pressure moments, those same shots that Isael Hardenstein was hitting those floaters in the first half, he wasn’t hitting those in late in the game, right? And so again, you got to tip your hats off cuz those guys grinded it out defensively. And Christian Brown, he was phenomenal. having to guard a guy like SGA who I think is the best offensive perimeter player in the game without fouling him, making him take tough contested tools and and making him give up the rock is not an easy task at all. Sometimes you look at the box score and there’s just things that don’t make any damn sense. If you tell me Joic goes all of 11 from three, there’s just no chance you’re winning that basketball game. But it’s the the elevation of Gordon whose confidence in three I believe Mark Jones said on the broadcast this a 43% shooter from three in the regular season. We already saw him win a game with a three. He ties a game with a three. He and Porter and then obviously Murray. It’s more than Ham and Egg. That’s disrespectful because this team is more than just Joic. But I just I I I’m impressed with all of the role, not the role, but what the the way the stars delivered in their roles tonight uh to win this game because you’re not winning it with Jokic playing like that unless everybody else elevates. Scott, you’re right, man. But guess what? Gordon, Porter, and Murray, they’re champions for sure, right? They didn’t been through this. They’re champions and they’re at home and like you you think about what Aaron Gordon brought to the table tonight hitting that big three. But he was a monster in the fourth quarter. Jamal Murray, right? Picking being a true point guard picking and choosing his spots, when to be aggressive, when to uh create for others. We saw that beautiful kick out that he had to Michael Porter Jr. And Michael Porter Jr. laid it all out there on the line tonight on both ends of the floor. But again, these are guys that are battle tested and champions in the show tonight. Yeah. And you know, the the conversation, and maybe this is just too easy. It’s just too one-sizefits-all when it relates to OKC. If they lose a game to a team who does have championship DN D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D in the manner in which they did, it becomes real easy, perk, just to say they’re young. I don’t know if this is youth that showed itself. I saw you start to shake your head. Is there is there something that would explain the inability of OKC in those incredibly tough moments late to find the bucket they needed to win the game? Well, Scott, the one thing we know no matter what is that when they get late in the game that the Denver Nuggets are going to go to their twoman game with Jokic and Murray. We didn’t see that with the Oklahoma City Thunder. We just saw a whole lot of isolation plays whether it was Jaylen Williams or SGA. We saw Luke Dorsch trying to take somebody off the dribble. And look, this is the this is the growing pains that they’re going to have to go through through this series. Just because it’s your number that’s being called doesn’t mean it’s your shot. So again, I need to see is it going to be a side pick and roll with Cadet and SGA or or SGA and J Dub. Like they have to figure these things out. And I thought tonight you start, you know, they start the game in uh they start the overtime and I thought coach Dagnel made a mistake. He tried to go small with Alice Caruso and I love Alice Caruso, but you go small, you take Chad Homegr out the game and all of a sudden we see the big fella Big Joic. He get downhill, get a easy layup and see one go in and all of a sudden it was all she wrote from there. Yep. And it’s we know how this goes Perk. If if if Shay hits the bucket there late, they’re up 2-1. And the entire conversation you and I are having right now is entirely different. We’re raving about the way the length of the Thunder gets all those deflections on defense and how they’re able to respond and win home court back, but that’s not what happened. And so, as we now look ahead to a game four on Sunday, how do you view this series right now? This the the the scorebook says it’s 2-1 Denver. You feel like the Thunder are in trouble right now? I feel like it’s going seven games. That’s what I feel like. I feel like the Thunder blew a golden opportunity. You just talked about it, Scott. Jokic shot eight for 25 from the field. He had so many damn turnovers. This was probably one of the worst games of his career in the postseason and you couldn’t capital and you didn’t win it. So you got to find like you got to make sure if you’re the Oklahoma City Thunder, if you’re Alex Caruso who’s a champion in that locker room, you got to make sure that these guys stay positive and stay even kill. That even kill term is a real thing in the postseason, Scott. You never get too high and you never get too low. But I just can’t. It’s going to be hard for me to believe that the Oklahoma City Thunder could duplicate what they did to Jokic tonight defensively again in the game four. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Kendrick Perkins joins SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt to break down the Denver Nuggets’ OT win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of their best-of-seven series.

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