The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Denver Nuggets for Game 5 of their Round 2 NBA playoff series on Tuesday. The series is tied at 2-2. The Thunder survived a do-or-die situation when they escaped with a 92-87 Game 4 win over the Nuggets on Sunday.

Alexander hadn’t scored in the fourth quarter before driving for a layup that gave the Thunder a much-anticipated lead with 3 ½ minutes left. The OKC star poured it on from there as the Thunder rallied for a 112-105 win over Denver in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday night at the Paycom Center.

Denver led by eight points heading into the fourth quarter before dropping the final period by 15 points and losing at a critical pivot point in the series. Jokic finished the night with 44 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and two steals in 44 minutes of action.

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,

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) comes down with a rebound in front of Denver Nuggets' Russell Westbrook, left, in the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Monday,

The regular-season whistle disappears as the referees allow the players to decide the outcome of high-stakes games. That was best exemplified in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 92-87 Game 4 win over the Denver Nuggets.