The Denver Nuggets crowd was hostile towards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Don’t get it wrong, he torched them with 34 points on high efficiency in what was the MVP race clash. But once again, some dicey calls brought the heat out of Ball Arena. And it wasn’t just them. Even NBC commentator Grant Hill felt SGA gets an unfair whistle.

Hill was actually praising the Canadian guard and reigning MVP for a “savvy” move to get to the line. But the crowd erupted with the usual chant. The Team USA managing director said that the reaction wasn’t his fault. But his fellow commentator held him accountable for previously sparking the notion about SGA’s whistle.

After a back-and-forth, Hill’s fellow commentator stated, “If it was on you, you’re man enough to actually apologize to the entire Gilgeous-Alexander family”. Grant Hill played his safe card. “My wife’s Canadian,” he responded. The diplomatic answer put an end to their brief argument, but it didn’t change the facts.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nailed the Nuggets no matter what they threw at him. Keep his 13 free-throw attempts aside. He shot 11/16 from the field and had 13 assists, responding with incredible output when the Nuggets tried to double him. The free-throw argument is going to remain regardless, although SGA doesn’t lead the charts.

I’ll be the first to admit some calls appear to be egregious. However, the community is so absorbed with that notion that they forget his activity near the paint. He drives nearly 19 times per game and earns 3.4 free throws on average from those actions. He’s earning most of his calls. Again, I said most.

What infuriates fans and opposing coaches is the disparity that seems to exist. The Thunder attacked Nikola Jokic with a lot of physicality tonight. Yet, he went to the line only four times, calling for David Adelman to justify that the rules work differently for both players.

“It’s a night-to-night thing with how they’re allowed to guard him,” Adelman said. “Big guys are officiated differently than small guys. That’s just the truth. We have to react to that and play through it”.

But he didn’t blame the whistle for their loss.

The Denver Nuggets lost order against the Thunder

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the architect behind the Thunder’s integral win. However, OKC as a whole forced the Nuggets into being frantic. Notably, Denver couldn’t handle their tenacity or match their physicality. They forced the Joker into six turnovers, and for the night it was 18.

“You can’t have 18 turnovers. Eighteen times you don’t get to shoot the ball is inexcusable, especially in a game like that,” David Adelman said about the loss.

Those turnovers came at crucial times and led to painful punishment. OKC outscored the Nuggets 19-8 off turnovers. Furthermore, their crisp passing paved the way for a barrage of threes. Cason Wallace scored a career-high 27 points, making seven triples. The Thunder were precise. The Nuggets weren’t nearly as polished. OKC limited Jamal Murray to just 12 points. He scored just two points in the second half.

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So, although the Nuggets shot the ball better and created moments, they couldn’t capitalize. Peyton Watson was the only shining light, going off for 29 points and was the only player to make more than 2 threes for Denver. In the end, OKC were awarded just three more free throws and managed to win by 10.

The Nuggets had moments to turn the tables. But they weren’t sharp enough.