Clank! Nuggets and Thunder combine for 25 points, tied for fewest in 1st quarter of NBA playoff game

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t wake up their slumbering offenses in an early Game 4 tip on Sunday, resulting in a record-tying bad start to an NBA playoff game.

The teams combined for 25 points to open the game, matching the record for fewest in a first quarter.

The score after 12 minutes of action: Thunder 17, Nuggets 8. The last time two teams combined for that low of score after the opening period was May 20, 1999, when Portland led Utah 14-11.

Detroit (16) and Toronto (9) also combined for just 25 on April 21, 2002.

With so many misses, clanks and airballs, it looked straight out of a Sunday morning pickup game at the rec center. The Thunder and Nuggets combined for 8-for-44 shooting. That’s 18.2%.

It was even worse from farther out. Denver was 0 for 14 from 3-point range, while the Thunder were 1 of 11.

Both coaches maintained before the game the early start — just after 1:30 p.m. local time — wouldn’t make much of a difference.

“It’s the same time for them. It’s the same rest for them,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Neither team is at an advantage or disadvantage with that. We really don’t think about it. It’s an equal playing field today for both teams.”

Both teams combined for more turnovers (9) than made baskets (8) in the first quarter. There were so many misses that Nikola Jokic had six rebounds in the opening frame, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each had five.

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