Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City’s young core has reached its moment of truth.

Jamal Murray fought through an illness to score 25 points and power the Denver Nuggets past the Thunder 119-107, sending the series back to Oklahoma City for a decisive Game 7.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to beat the Denver Nuggets 112-105 and go up 3-2 in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder finally outplayed Denver in crunch time, beating the Nuggets 92-87 Sunday to knot their second-round series at two games each.

Not this time: The Denver Nuggets’ second-half lead was way too big for them to fritter away.

The Nuggets are glad Game 7 of their first-round playoff series with the Clippers will be at home Saturday.

Jamal Murray erupted for 43 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 21 in his return from a foot injury, sparking the Nuggets’ 131-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday night that gave Denver a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Aaron Gordon slammed down Nikola Jokic’s miss as time expired to lift the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Clippers 101-99 on Saturday to tie their playoff series 2-2.

Kawhi Leonard scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting and the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round playoff series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver.

Nikola Jokic will average a triple-double for the season, making the Denver star the third player in NBA history to pull off such a feat.

Nikola Jokic had his 32nd triple-double of the season with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists and Denver beat the Sacramento Kings 124-116 on Wednesday night in the Nuggets’ first game since head coach Michael Malone was fired.

All five of the Denver Nuggets starters are out for their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednedsay night.

Michael Malone called him Superman.

Nikola Jokic had 39 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his first game back in nearly two weeks to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 127-117 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 127-103 in a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference standings.

Nikola Jokic sat in front of his locker, calmly scrolling through his phone, seemingly unimpressed that 30 minutes earlier he made NBA history.

Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 22 assists and the Denver Nuggets outlasted the Phoenix Suns 149-141 in overtime Friday night after losing a 21-point lead.

Denver coach Michael Malone first broached the subject with his team in training camp, reminding them no NBA champion had won back-to-back titles since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2018.

Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists for his third straight triple-double and 18th of the season after his long buzzer-beater against Golden State sealed the last meeting, leading the defending champion Denver Nuggets past the Warriors again in a 119-103 victory.

The NBA-champion Denver Nuggets struck a deal with Indiana to acquire a first-round round pick in the draft on Thursday night.

Denver rookie Christian Braun is in rarified air with the Nuggets two wins shy of winning the first NBA championship in franchise history.

Nuggets rookie Christian Braun gets high praise from coach Michael Malone, and his star teammates Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray also rave about the rookie.

Jalen Green scored 32 points, six others scored in double figures and the last-place Houston Rockets prevented the Denver Nuggets from clinching the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 124-103 victory in their home finale.

Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double to lead the Denver Nuggets over the Memphis Grizzlies 105-91 in a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference.

A person with knowledge of the negotiations says the Denver Nuggets have agreed to a deal that would send guards Will Barton and Monte Morris to the Washington Wizards for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith.

The Great Kansas Comeback is about more than just one scintillating, stifling 20-minute stretch of Jayhawks basketball.

Bill Self went from the Hall of Fame coach who too often failed on the big stage to the brilliant mastermind of the biggest second-half comeback in NCAA title game history.

Bill Self won his elusive second national title with a masterful second-half coaching job and a spicy dash of Remy Martin.

Kansas coach Bill Self finds himself in the same spot that longtime North Carolina coach Dean Smith once did.

Villanova needed Justin Moore on offense, to add another scoring threat and spread the floor.

David McCormack muscled his way to 25 points, Ochai Agbaji added 21 and hot-shooting Kansas withstood every Villanova run for a 81-65 victory Saturday night that sent the Jayhawks back to the national title game.

North Carolina, Duke and Kansas are bona fide basketball bluebloods, the best of the best in the men's college game.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's final chapter will have a distinctly blue tint.

Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack and Christian Braun powered a dazzling second half for Kansas, and the top-seeded Jayhawks pounded Miami 76-50 to advance to the program’s 16th Final Four.

Remy Martin scored 20 points, Ochai Agbaji put Kansas ahead for good with his first basket early in the second half, and the Jayhawks held off Creighton 79-72 to advance to the Sweet 16.

Remy Martin had 15 points and Christian Braun 14 to lead five players scoring in double figures for top-seeded Kansas, and the Jayhawks opened their 50th NCAA Tournament with an 83-56 victory over Texas Southern.

Keegan Murray has given Iowa a first-team Associated press All-American for the third straight year.

David McCormack had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Ochai Agbaji made a pair of clinching foul shots with just over a minute to go, and sixth-ranked Kansas beat No. 14 Texas Tech 74-65 to win the Big 12 Tournament title.

Ochai Agbaji led sixth-ranked Kansas with 18 points in a 87-63 victory over West Virginia in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Tournament.

David McCormack had 22 points and 10 rebounds to help sixth-ranked Kansas beat No. 21 Texas 70-63 to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament.

Flo Thamba had 18 points, Jeremy Sochan had 17 and 10th-ranked Baylor overcame a big early deficit to beat No. 5 Kansas 80-70.

Jalen Wilson had 22 points and No. 8 Kansas used a late run to beat Oklahoma 71-69.

Timmy Allen scored 24 points and his long jumper from just beyond the free throw line with 21 seconds left put Texas ahead before Marcus Carr’s free throws sealed a 79-76 win over No. 8 Kansas on Monday night.

Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji each scored 18 points and No. 10 Kansas bolted to a big lead and routed No. 8 Baylor 83-59 to hold the top spot in the Big 12 Conference race.

Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 37 points to help No. 5 Kansas avenge its only conference loss of the season with a 94-91 double overtime win over No. 13 Texas Tech. Agbaji outdueled Bryson Williams, who poured in 33 points for Tech. Kansas led by one in the second overtime when Williams banked in a 3-pointer.

One of the most heated rivalries in college basketball will be renewed on Saturday when Missouri visits No. 8 Kansas in a matchup of old Big Eight foes.

Mustapha Amzil hit a running jumper in the lane at the buzzer, and Dayton beat No. 4 Kansas 74-73.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)INDIANAPOLIS – Southern California coach Andy Enfield is taking another program back to the Sweet 16. Marcus Garrett had 15 points for Kansas (21-9), which had never lost an NCAA tourney game by more than 16 points. AdMobley's four first-half 3s, doubling his career best for an entire game, staked the Trojans to a 40-21 lead at the break. Kansas trimmed its deficit to 16 early in the second half, but Enfield immediately called timeout and the momentum was over. BIG PICTURESouthern California continued a banner tournament for the Pac-12, which is now 9-1 with four of its five teams reaching the Sweet 16.

Michigan took advantage of Villanova's loss at St. John's to jump into the top three, Ohio State climbed three spots to No. The Jayhawks began their Top 25 streak on Feb. 2, 2009, when freshman guard Bryce Thompson was 6 years old. “We have plenty of games to go win and I know this team can do it,” Kansas guard Christian Braun said. 15, followed by Tennessee, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Creighton and Southern California. The Bruins dropped out, along with Kansas, Florida and Drake, whose 18-0 start was spoiled in a 74-57 loss to Valparaiso.

Baylor guard Jared Butler (12) shoots a three-point basket past Kansas guard Marcus Garrett (0) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, in Waco, Texas. Butler had a season-high 30 points and eight assists as the Bears remained undefeated with a 77-69 victory Monday night over No. 9 Kansas, which has lost consecutive Big 12 games for the first time in nearly eight years. “To win the Big 12, we’re going to need all 15 guys, we need everybody, we need the staff. “They were real focused, like we’ve been for every game,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said.

Cade Cunningham scored 18 points, and the Cowboys held off a late rally to beat No. “This is what the process looks like,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. It was the fifth time in the past eight tries that Oklahoma State has beaten the Jayhawks at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Garrett missed a 3-pointer, and Oklahoma State got the ball in a scramble and called timeout with 17.8 seconds left. Oklahoma State hosts rival Oklahoma on Saturday.

14 Texas Tech 58-57 on Thursday night, giving the Jayhawks a win in their conference opener for the 30th season in a row. Texas Tech (6-2, 0-1) had one more opportunity, with coach Chris Beard calling a timeout with 6.2 seconds left to set up a final play. Mac McClung led Texas Tech with a season-high 21 points, the third 20-point game this season for the transfer from Georgetown. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders had only seven turnovers and forced 16 Kansas turnovers, and had 16 second-chance points off 13 offensive rebounds. Texas Tech plays at Oklahoma on Tuesday night.