Murray and Porter lead the Nuggets to a 113-104 bounce-back win over the Thunder

DENVER AP Jamal Murray scored points and Michael Porter Jr bounced back with clutch points leading the Denver Nuggets past the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder - in overtime Friday night for a - lead in the Western Conference semifinal series Nikola Jokic added points and rebounds and Aaron Gordon had points for the Nuggets who led by no more than two points in regulation but went on an - run in the extra period Jokic went for from the field and missed all of his -pointers but started the overtime flourish with a finger-roll layup and the Nuggets never trailed again The other NBA MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also had a tough night missing of shots going for from deep and finishing with points Jalen Williams led OKC with points and Chet Holmgren chipped in Meeting is Sunday at Ball Arena It was tied at after regulation and both Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic missed promising winners in the closing seconds of regulation SGA missed a -foot jumper with seconds left and Joker missed a -footer at the buzzer After getting blown out by points in Meeting the Nuggets knew their path to mastery on this night was staying close until the end when they could tap into their mix of experience home climate and closing prowess The Nuggets trailed - after three quarters They would have had the lead if not for back-to-back offensive goal-tending calls in the third quarter on Gordon and Jokic The Thunder took a - halftime lead thanks to Holmgren s points and seven boards Porter who was a combined -for- from the floor in Oklahoma City made his first five shots three from deep to keep Denver close Reminiscent of last year when Jokic manifested up for a playoff contest at Ball Arena dressed as Gru from Despicable Me the Joker arrived Thursday night dressed as well the Joker the DC Comics villain version AP NBA https apnews com hub NBA Source