The Denver Nuggets entered the Paycom Center with the stakes higher than ever before. This high-stakes Game 5 against the OKC Thunder required the performance to match that. For most of the game, it was an intense battle between two solid teams. Then, as time started to fade in the third quarter, Denver’s interim head coach, David Adelman, had to make a huge decision: whether to keep playing Nikola Jokic. Or to give him a breather? “How do you feel?” Adelman asked the Joker. “Can you play through the rest of the game?” Jokic nodded his head and entered the fray with the hopes of getting his team through the line. However, destiny had other plans.

Adelman decided to keep his best player on the field in what was a must-win game for the team, and rightly so. However, he overlooked that, after all, the MVP candidate is human. Jokic ran out of gas by the time the fourth quarter started, and what followed was a disappointing 112-105 loss for the Nuggets as they fell 3-2 down in the series. Despite that, Nikola Jokic finished the night with 44 points, along with 15 rebounds and 5 assists, yet again giving his all on the court. So, if Jokic put up such staggering numbers, where did the Nuggets fall short? According to former Denver player Kenny Smith, it was the lack of effort from the rest of the Denver roster.

“Some guys that did play that didn’t give him much help: Michael Porter Jr., Russ, Braun, and Watson. They were six for 28 from the floor. We need more, and Michael Porter Jr. We applaud him out there playing with a shoulder injury, but they need his three-point shooting.” Smith pointed out while on the show ‘NBA on TNT.’ Indeed, the former Nuggets point guard is right. Jokic was a lone warrior against the first-seeded OKC team, firing on all cylinders, yet he managed to make this a close game. One could only imagine how the game could’ve turned out with a bit of help from his supporting cast.

Russell Westbrook had an off day as the veteran went for a mere 1-of-7 from the field and scored just four points in 20 minutes of action. The others were equally terrible, as Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., and Peyton Watson salvaged 13 points together even after clocking in valuable minutes. Overall, they needed to be much better. That’s because this placed an even heavier burden on the Joker as he tried to keep his team in the game. What makes this loss even more devastating is the fact that the Denver Nuggets led the game by as much as eight points in the fourth quarter. So, just a bit more effort could’ve gotten them a crucial win. However, it also makes you think, why were Nikola Jokic’s co-stars so terrible to begin with?

What was the reason behind Russell Westbrook and Denver’s late-game collapse?

Whether you might believe it or not, the Denver Nuggets have been playing on short rest for most of the postseason. Of course, it began with them going back and forth with the Clippers in a seven-game thriller series. Then the team did not have much time before they hit the road again to face the OKC Thunder. So, it’s hard to ignore the effect of fatigue, as the Nuggets seemed to run out of gas in the fourth quarter. Jokic clocked in 44 minutes with Christian Braun and Jamal Murray playing 43 and 42 minutes, respectively.

Yet when asked about fatigue hampering their game, Denver’s point guard shook his head and gave a mic drop reply. “I play better when I’m tired,” Murray said. Dope choice of words, but the stats say otherwise. OKC outscored Denver in the final 12 minutes of the game, 34-19. Down the stretch, the Nuggets could not get in blocks when it mattered the most. On the other hand, they missed shot after shot; had any of those landed, we might be looking at a much different result right now.

Moreover, this might also be the key factor in the sloppy performance from Michael Porter Jr., Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, and Christian Braun. However, Denver’s supporting cast cannot use this as a shield to hide away from the fact that they were terrible. They will need to reflect on their terrible performance in Game 5 and make corrections, as the Nuggets now face a do-or-die situation against the Thunder ahead of Game 6. It will be interesting to see how they approach the issue, as they will have a couple of days to shrug off some of the fatigue that cost them Game 5.