Nikola Jokic’s shooting slump finally caught up to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

Oklahoma City’s 92-87 win in a rock fight marked the third consecutive game Jokic hasn’t been able to operate with anything close to resembling his usual efficiency. It cost the Nuggets an opportunity to take a 3-1 series lead at home. Instead, the Thunder headed back to Oklahoma with home-court advantage and a frustrated Jokic.

“I need to do a better job, of course,” Jokic admitted after the Game 4 loss.

Jokic led all scorers with 27 points, but it took a lot to get there. He finished 7 of 22 (31.8%) from the field and made 2 of 8 attempts from 3-point range. Six of Jokic’s misses came from 11 feet or closer, where he’s a historically efficient scorer. He continued to lobby with officials for more foul calls.

“I know there’s frustration there,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said.

“Nikola will figure that out.”

Adelman credited Oklahoma City’s defense for the struggles around the rim, which weren’t unique to Jokic. The Thunder finished with just two blocked shots but impacted many others.

“The finishing around the basket is their length. We can’t go 10 for 25 near the rim,” Adelman said. “You have to finish those baskets. It’s so hard to get there.”

After scoring 42 points on 52% shooting in Game 1, Jokic has seen his field goal percentage drop from 37.5% in Game 2 to 32% in Game 3 before a new low was reached Sunday.

“They’re physical. They’re handsy. They’re good with help,” Jokic said. “Sometimes I just cannot make a shot. It’s a little bit of everything.”

The Nuggets went as Jokic did in Game 4. Former teammate Isaiah Hartenstein blocked Jokic’s first shot, and he was unable to contribute any offense other than an assist in Denver’s eight-point first quarter. He scored 22 of his points in the second and third quarters, as Denver turned a 15-point deficit into a six-point advantage to start the fourth.

Inefficiency struck again in the fourth. Jokic scored five points on seven shots and went 1 for 4 on free throws. He went to the line with Oklahoma City up by four with 3 minutes and 15 seconds on the clock. After Jokic missed both, Jalen Williams put the Thunder up six.

“Big two free throws, I missed,” Jokic said.

“We had the chances. Basically, we didn’t make shots.”

Aaron Gordon, who finished with 15 points on 5 of 10 shooting, was the only member of the Nuggets to shoot better than 36% from the field, while Christian Braun and Jamal Murray added 17 points apiece. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 25 points on 19 shots, and Oklahoma City got valuable scoring contributions from Cason Wallace (11), Aaron Wiggins (11) and Alex Caruso (10) off the bench.

If there was a positive development from Jokic’s game, it was the turnovers. He committed seven, six and eight turnovers, respectively, in the first three games of the series. Sunday he was only responsible for two of Denver’s 14 turnovers.

“We’ve kind of seen a lot of different things thrown at him. He’s seen every coverage,” Braun said. “Same things we’ve always done, we’ve got to convert and execute better.”

Denver returns to the site of Jokic’s best game of the series for Tuesday’s Game 5. In an unusual twist, the Nuggets are not blaming their defense or physicality after a costly loss.

“We are fighting. I think that’s not a problem,” Jokic said.

“It’s really hard to win against that team if you don’t shoot the ball well.”

THUNDER 92, NUGGETS 87

What happened: Oklahoma City led by nine after the first quarter and took a 42-36 leat to halftime. Denver moved ahead in the third and took a six-point advantage to the fourth but scored just 18 points in the final 12 minutes as Oklahoma City evened the series and regained home-court advantage.

What went right: After going 2 for 21 on 3-pointers in the first half, the Nuggets made four of five to start the third quarter. The Nuggets took their first lead of the game after Aaron Gordon hit the team’s sixth 3 in the middle of the third quarter.

What went wrong: The Nuggets had more turnovers (5) than made field goals (2) in the first quarter. Denver started 2-22 from the field and missed all 14 of its 3-point attempts. The only made shots were a Christian Braun dunk and a Jamal Murray layup.

Highlight of the night: After 16 consecutive misses, Russell Westbrook connected on Denver’s first 3-pointer in the final five minutes left of the second quarter. His make from the right wing cut the Thunder’s lead to five.

Up next: It’s back to Oklahoma City for Tuesday’s Game 5.