But once one problem was solved, another immediately emerged.
For the Thunder, Chen Xi was still on the court. For Denver, however, the only players leading the team at that moment were Murray and Gordon.
Could they hold on through these brief three-plus minutes?
The answer was no...
With Westbrook and Davis on the bench and Alexander yet to enter the game,
Chen Xi was the only Thunder player on the court with an exceptionally high level of individual offensive ability.
Naturally, the ball would all flow into his hands without question.
And with the ball in his possession and his Offensive Desire running high, Chen Xi immediately became every opposing team's nightmare.
In just three minutes, he went one-for-two from three, one-for-one on mid-range shots, one-for-one at the rim, and two-for-two from the free-throw line.
With nine straight points, Chen Xi once again widened the gap to a number that was difficult for the Nuggets to accept.
When the First Quarter ended, the score was temporarily frozen at 38–24.
Powered by Chen Xi's terrifying 21-point quarter, the Thunder had beaten the Nuggets by 14 points in the quarter.
That was a frightening number.
For the Nuggets, their margin for error over the remaining three quarters would become extremely small.
They had to perform at their best in every respect to have any chance of overturning the game against the Thunder...
Not long afterward, the Second Quarter began.
The Nuggets immediately showed a completely different face.
Jokic entered the game early and led the team in launching a fierce counterattack.
In less than four minutes, he scored four straight points and dished out two assists, helping the team claw back some of the deficit.
Of course, this was merely Teacher Jokic's normal performance. For the Thunder, it was entirely predictable.