These Three Simple Statistics Explain OKC Thunder's Game 1 Loss to Denver

The Oklahoma City Thunder have suffered their first loss of the postseason in heartbreaking fashion.

An Aaron Gordon 3-pointer in the game's final seconds lifted Denver to a 121-119 against OKC in the first game of the Western Conference Semifinals. A battle of two MVP finalists, Nikola Jokic finished the contest with 42 points, 22 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 33 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block.

With Denver stealing a game in Oklahoma City, the Thunder will have to win two of the next three contests to regain home-court advantage.

The Thunder led by 10 at halftime, and even held a solid lead in the fourth quarter, but were unable to close the door on the Nuggets as Denver stormed back to shock OKC in Game 1.

While the process may have been astonishing, there are three simple statistics that explain Oklahoma City's struggles.

Free throws

Not only did the Nuggets shoot five more free throws than OKC, but Denver connected on 81.8% of their shots from the charity stripe compared to just 71.4% from the Thunder.

Of course, Chet Holmgren's two misses towards the end of the game are the most notable, but Oklahoma City left eight points on the board throughout the night. Additionally, with the team committing a total of 27 personal fouls compared to 21 from the Nuggets, Jokic was at the line for easy points late in the game while Holmgren and Hartenstein were in foul trouble and limited defensively.

Rebounds

Denver secured 20 more rebounds than Oklahoma City en route to 27 second-chance points in Game 1.

Jokic was a big piece of the Nuggets' success on the glass, as the team finished with 21 offensive rebounds and 63 total boards. The Thunder, who grabbed just 43 rebounds, looked like last year's squad at times as the group struggled to deal with Denver's size and intensity on the glass.

Field goal percentage

In the end, the Nuggets just hit a few more timely shots than the Thunder.

A Denver team with championship experience was unfazed by a road deficit, and was able to connect on multiple crucial looks down the stretch. Each team made 42 field goals, with the Nuggets' free throw count ultimately deciding the difference in the game.

Jalen Williams went 5-for-20 while Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe shot a combined 1-for-8 from the field in Game 1. For the Thunder to get back on track, the group will need to have a better performance from the field and beyond the ar