Why did Oklahoma City Thunder bail Denver Nuggets out and let Nikola Jokic check back in for final 10 seconds?

The "free-throw merchant" chants are a bit ironic coming from Thunder fans since it's an accusation that has been made against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander ranked second in the NBA during the regular season with 8.8 free-throw attempts per game. Jokić was tied for seventh with 6.4 attempts per game.

In Denver's round one win over the Los Angeles Clippers, Jokic led the way as well. He averaged 24 points per game to go along with 11.6 rebounds, 10.1 assists, and 2.3 steals, while shooting 50% from the floor and 45.2% from 3-point range.