Thunder fall flat and let golden opportunity slip vs. Nuggets: ‘They went and got the game'

New York Times

16-05-2025

DENVER — The celebrations began before the final buzzer had even sounded, Nuggets players hugging and congratulating each other on a job well done, a series extended and a season saved.
At the opposite end of the court, a thick layer of melancholy was present. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault ducked under the tunnel, fidgeting with his fingers as if he was attempting to draw up a play that would alleviate his team's collective pain. One by one, the players headed for the locker room, their heads looking at the ground — all while the boos from Ball Arena rained down upon them.
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And for as much optimism as the locker room portrayed after the fact, there was no escaping the reality that Oklahoma City had let a golden opportunity slip. On Thursday night, the Thunder had a chance — several chances, to be honest — to put the Nuggets away. To avoid the tension and nervousness that can come with a Game 7. To advance to its first conference finals in nearly a decade.
They didn't.
'I thought we played a really good first half,' Daigneault said following Oklahoma City's 119-107 loss in Game 6. 'To weather the early storm the way we did and only be down three at the end of the first quarter, it was positive. We obviously took control of the game in the second (quarter), which was positive. And then they just outplayed us in the second half. They were sharper, executed better, made more plays. Credit them, they went and got the game.'
Final from Denver pic.twitter.com/uRZ0NDNZTV
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 16, 2025
In Game 6, the Nuggets, already playing a short rotation, finally decided to impose their will physically on a young Thunder team. In truth, the sublime, high-efficiency nights from both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 points on 11-for-16 shooting) and Nikola Jokić (29 points on 9-for-14 shooting) felt almost secondary, with role players like Christian Braun and Julian Strawther stepping up when the lights were brightest. Denver decided to force the issue, consistently attacking the teeth of Oklahoma City's defense and putting the onus on the officials to make calls — who finished the game taking twice as many free throws as their counterparts, 32 to 16. The Thunder also failed to establish a strong footing on the glass, allowing the Nuggets to dominate 52 to 40 in that department — including an impressive 23 second-chance points on 11 offensive rebounds.
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'They threw a punch tonight, as it's happened in this series,' said Daigneault. 'Both teams are exchanging blows and they got theirs in tonight.'
If there was one word to describe the Thunder's offensive process — and honestly their approach defensively at times — it was flat. According to Cleaning the Glass, their 92.0 points per 100 halfcourt plays ranked in just the 33rd percentile of postseason performances — well below their standard. And it wasn't that they coughed the ball up a ton (just 11 turnovers) or had poor shot quality (the operative word tonight was their 'process'), but a team which typically outworked teams just looked lethargic.
Fatigue, while a very real aspect of professional sports and everyday life, can't be cited as an excuse. Denver is going through the same thing, are playing less guys on a nightly basis and are older. It just felt like the Nuggets wanted it more, which is a precarious position to be in, even for a Thunder team that has achieved so much this season. There's no one-size-fits-all in Game 7s. Sunday night in Oklahoma City will be the most high-pressured situation any of these players have been in, against an experienced, battle-tested group.
There was a moment during Daigneault's postgame news conference — where he admitted that Denver had outplayed them for most of the series outside of two fourth quarter stretches — that spoke volumes. It's clear that the Nuggets' primary focus is neutralizing Gilgeous-Alexander's scoring threat, throwing a mixture of pressure-filled zones his way and forcing someone else to shoulder the load.
The issue is that Jalen Williams, SGA's running mate from October and an All-Star, is struggling. After averaging nearly 22 points per game during the regular season, Williams has failed to crack 20 points five times this series alone. In Game 5, Williams had his worst scoring outing, finishing with just six points on 3-for-16 shooting. Credit to Williams, his focus in other areas has typically been his endearing factor and on Thursday, he recorded seven rebounds, three steals, a block and 10 assists. And Williams is typically hard on himself, lingering on the bench after the final buzzer to reflect on his less-than-stellar offensive performance. But there's a balance between Williams the creator and Williams the scorer that he and the Thunder need to rediscover, quickly.
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'I think I got to spots I want to get to and they didn't go in, that's just how basketball works. I think I had a good process of what I was doing. I just hurt us tonight not making shots.'
Over the next 48 hours, the Thunder will have the chance to get back in the film room and identify exactly what went wrong in Game 6. There are some avoidable, simple mistakes that cost them — early foul trouble has a unique way of interrupting rhythm and flow, boxing out and not being overpowered by a team that is neck and neck in the rebounding department for the postseason — those are good places to start. At one point in the first half, the Thunder had successfully erased a double-digit deficit and built one of their own, before slowly losing control. The back-and-forth nature of this series almost makes a Game 7 a deserving, fitting end to this matchup.
'It's going to be very fun,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'The highest intensity basketball you ever play. But at the same time, it's still just basketball. Have fun, play free and let the chips fall where they may.'
But Oklahoma City needs to play with the same desperation Denver showed in Game 6, if not exponentially more. Paycom Center is an electric, vibrant building that is a culture in itself and its warmth will uplift a Thunder team looking for advantages. And truth be told, this is a team that won 68 games during the regular season — there aren't a plethora of errors for them to address. This series, at least from one angle, can be boiled down to the Nuggets' zone effectively daring the Thunder to outshoot them and that gamble has paid off, with Oklahoma City shooting just 27.5 and 24.4 percent from 3 in two of their last three games. Making open shots, as cliche as it sounds, will go a long way to settling their nerves and spirits.
'Huge,' Lu Dort told The Athletic about the importance of a home crowd and camaraderie in an elimination game. 'The togetherness that we have on our team is crazy. You can see in this locker room, even after a loss like that, everyone's head is down — and still we have that same vibe we've had the whole season. We have to regroup, watch film, get better and see what we can do for Game 7.'
(Photo of Thunder guard Alex Caruso: Isaiah J. Downing/Imagn Images)