Paul Millsap feeling “normal” again as Nuggets make one final playoff push

OKLAHOMA CITY — Paul Millsap could only stand and watch as the play that determined the outcome of the Nuggets’ wild overtime game against the Thunder unfolded. As Mason Plumlee met Jerami Grant in the air with less than 10 seconds remaining in the extra period, Millsap remained ground bound. If Grant finished, Denver would need a miracle to avoid blowing its third second-half lead in three games.

“I kind of stopped, and the ball fell right into my hands,” Millsap said. “And then I just had to refocus because I was going to have to knock some free throws down. I was in awe at first and then woke up.”

Plumlee denied Grant at the rim. The ball squirted around before bouncing to Millsap. After a season filled with so much bad luck, Millsap finally caught a break. He corralled the basketball, got fouled and knocked a pair of clutch free throws as the Nuggets hung on to beat the Thunder 126-125.

Millsap scored a season-high 36 points in a win that kept Denver’s playoffs hopes alive. The Nuggets are two games behind the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans and seventh-seeded Utah Jazz with only six games remaining. They head home to Pepsi Center for a Sunday game against the Milwaukee Bucks after finishing off a brutal seven-game road trip with a win in Oklahoma City.

“(Belief), it’s still there. Everybody is still jolly, happy,” Millsap said. “We feel like we’re a playoff team. We’ve just got to get there. We can’t get there being stressed. The best thing we can do is be free and go out there and play our game.”

Denver held second-half leads in games against Philadelphia and Toronto earlier this week but couldn’t hang on either time. The Nuggets were up by as many as 15 points in the third quarter Friday but again frittered away the lead after getting outscored 35-22 in the fourth quarter.

Will Barton forced overtime when he hit a twisting layup with nine seconds remaining that knotted the game at 114. Denver wouldn’t have even been in a position to tie if not for Millsap, who scored 11 points (4-5 FG) in the fourth quarter alone.

“I’ve felt good these past few days,” Millsap said. “The wrist has been feeling pretty good. I’ve been able to drive left. I’ve been able to play my game pretty much. That’s some of it. The rest of it is coach calling plays and teammates getting me the ball in the right spots.”

Millsap put together three good games in a row this week. He scored 16 on 10 shots in Philadelphia, 20 on 12 shots in Toronto and concluded the road trip with his best game of the season, a 36-point (13-18 FG), six-rebound performance. After missing 44 games with a wrist injury, Millsap is finally starting to resemble the four-time All-Star that Denver handed a gargantuan contract this summer.

“It’s feeling normal,” Millsap said about his left wrist. “I’m able to put the ball on the ground with strength and force. A lot of my moves are predicated off of that. It’s feeling pretty good right now.”

Millsap and Nikola Jokic combined for 59 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists. The Nuggets outscored the Thunder by 13 points when they were on the floor together. The pieces of Denver’s front court are meshing well, though there might be too much ground to make up now.

“I see a much more comfortable Paul Millsap right now,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “He’s playing at a high level. The way he’s moving. The way he’s getting his shot off. The touch he has on the ball. All those things. I think he’s finding his form. We have six games to go. We need him and everyone else to play at a high level. I think they understand what’s on the line, and they answered the call tonight.”