OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 112-105 on Tuesday night to go up 3-2 in their Western Conference semifinal series. Oklahoma City overcame a 44-point, 15-rebound night from Denver’s Nikola Jokic. The Thunder can clinch the series on Thursday in Denver.

Game 5 was set to be a decisive contest in the second-round series between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder, with the winner taking the 3-2 series l

The NBA is down to four second-round playoff series, but two stick out for reasons other than the intriguing on-court matchups. There have been few complaints about the scheduling of the Indiana Pacers-Cleveland Cavaliers or New York Knicks-Boston Celtics series,

An ugly win might be exactly what the Thunder needed. OKC beat Denver 92-87 in a grind-it-out Game 4 Sunday afternoon at Ball Arena to tie the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2.