The Denver Nuggets just dropped Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight. They’ve now lost 2 games in a row in this series. But more importantly, they’re 3-2 down!  And tensions may be brewing in their locker room because of it. In light of this, Jamal Murray and coach David Adelman had the same remedy for their issues.

At the post-game press conference, both the coach and the player had similar assessments of the Nuggets’ performance tonight. Adelman thinks his team did a good job at “contesting” the Nuggets. He gave credit to Lu Dort for making “big shots” to win the game for his team, but he used it to pivot to what he thought the problem for the Nuggets was for tonight. “These playoff games, a lot of times, are won by one run of a player that’s not Shai, not Jalen, Jamal, or Nikola,” he said.

David then revealed that what the Nuggets need right now is someone else to step up. “It’s somebody else. And we’re hoping for that moment, we go back home, have a couple guys have a night like that, that pushes you over the edge,” he said. And Jamal Murray’s message to his teammates was quite similar. He gave his team credit for playing well tonight, but added that they all need to be on the same page and step up to clinch this series.

“I would say we’re great. It’s just, it’s a team thing…It’s not one person that’s messing up. So I think we just all gotta be on the same page. And, yeah, it sucks. It’s sports, man… I just think it comes down to getting a couple stops to win the game,” said Murray, echoing his coach’s sentiment.

Only 7 points separated the Nuggets and Thunder tonight. And there’s no getting around the fact that Lu Dort’s three 3-pointers in the final quarter made the difference for them. In doing so, he made more threes than the entire Nuggets bench, ending the game with 4.

And that begs an important question. Who’s going to step up for the Nuggets in this series? Jokic put in an incredible hustle, grabbing 15 boards and scoring at will with 44 points. Jamal Murray also did his part with 28 points. So, who can go a step further for the Nuggets in this series? Well, there are three options. Let’s look at each one.

Who can step up for the Nuggets like Jamal Murray says?

The first person who fits the bill for Jamal Murray’s idea is Aaron Gordon. He has been immense in this postseason for the Denver Nuggets. He’s averaging 18.3 points and pulled the Nuggets out of the fire several times. The most noteworthy instance was that buzzer-beating dunk which won Game 4 for the Nuggets against the Clippers. He had a quiet game tonight against the Thunder, though. But to help his team get to the conference finals, he’ll need to make sure Game 5 was his last quiet game of this postseason.

Another starter who can help the Nuggets by stepping up to the plate and making those clutch shots is Michael Porter Jr. There’s no two ways about it — Porter has been subpar in this series, barring one game. Tonight, he grabbed only 2 points in 29 minutes played. And that simply will not fly in the postseason. But that game is what shows that he can get it done for the Nuggets. He grabbed 20 points off 7-10 shooting to help the Nuggets clinch Game 3 against the OKC Thunder.

Although speaking of abysmal point tallies, Russell Westbrook is the final player who can help the Nuggets to victory in this series. Russ isn’t having the best time as things stand. Reports from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne suggest one of his teammates isn’t pleased with him. “There’d been a heated discussion between Westbrook and Gordon in the locker room, multiple sources told ESPN. Gordon had challenged Westbrook about his attitude. Outside the locker room, one player relayed why Gordon might’ve done so. ‘He’s so immature,’ he said of Westbrook,” wrote Shelburne, alleging that an anonymous teammate of Brodie’s had an issue with him.

But Brodie has a chance to fix everything by simply showing up when his team needs him on the court. He is a chaotic presence, yes. But that could work in the Nuggets’ favor if he helps the two players we mentioned before him to find open looks. And if these three can all step up? Well, Jamal Murray and David Adelman will have nothing but praise to sing at the next post-game press conference.