Game ID: 42400223
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Denver Nuggets
Friday, May 9, 2025 at 10:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
DEN 22 29 29 22 11 113OKC 28 28 27 19 2 104
DEN vs OKC ScoutingDEN vs OKC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 10 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 4/24 after 2, 6 min since (32% of 20)
BACK Nnaji back 4/24 after 2, 3 min since (32% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 39 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/03 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 11 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 4/24 after 2, 6 min since (32% of 20)
BACK Nnaji back 4/24 after 2, 3 min since (32% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 38 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/05 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 12 since 4/04, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 4/24 after 2, 5 min since (27% of 20)
BACK Nnaji back 4/24 after 2, 3 min since (28% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 38 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/07 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 13 since 4/04, out tonight
NEW Murray 37 to 43 min over the last 5
NEW Braun 35 to 40 min over the last 5
NEW Gordon 30 to 39 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 14 since 4/04, out tonight
NEW Gordon 30 to 36 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 15 since 4/04, out tonight
NEW Gordon 30 to 38 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 16 since 4/04, out tonight
OUT Pickett missed 2 since 5/09, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 2 since 5/09, out tonight
NEW Gordon 30 to 37 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restOUT Šarić missed 17 since 4/04, out tonight
OUT Pickett missed 3 since 5/09, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 3 since 5/09, out tonight
OUT Nnaji missed 2 since 5/11, out tonight
NEW Gordon 30 to 37 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 5/18 · 2 days' restOUT Šarić missed 18 since 4/04, out tonight
OUT Pickett missed 4 since 5/09, returns tonight: 10 min (76% of 13)
OUT Jordan missed 4 since 5/09, out tonight
OUT Nnaji missed 3 since 5/11, returns tonight: 10 min (94% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 37 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 4/24 · 1 day's restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/20 after 3, 31 min since (88% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/20 after 2, 31 min since (93% of 33)
BACK Dort back 4/20 after 3, 27 min since (93% of 29)
BACK Holmgren back 4/20 after 2, 27 min since (96% of 28)
BACK Hartenstein back 4/20 after 3, 24 min since (91% of 26)
BACK Wallace back 4/20 after 3, 19 min since (71% of 26)
BACK Caruso back 4/20 after 2, 17 min since (82% of 21)
BACK Jay. Williams back 4/09 after 4, 15 min since (102% of 14)
BACK Mitchell back 4/11 after 46, 17 min since (118% of 14)
NEW Wiggins 21 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Joe 19 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW K. Williams 15 to 28 min over the last 4
OKC availability going into 4/26 · 1 day's restOUT K. Williams missed 2 since 4/22, returns tonight: 2 min (10% of 15)
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/20 after 3, 34 min since (97% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/20 after 2, 33 min since (99% of 33)
BACK Dort back 4/20 after 3, 30 min since (103% of 29)
BACK Holmgren back 4/20 after 2, 29 min since (102% of 28)
BACK Hartenstein back 4/20 after 3, 23 min since (87% of 26)
BACK Wallace back 4/20 after 3, 20 min since (77% of 26)
BACK Caruso back 4/20 after 2, 19 min since (92% of 21)
BACK Mitchell back 4/11 after 46, 13 min since (92% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/05 · 8 days' restBACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/20 after 3, 35 min since (101% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/20 after 2, 34 min since (103% of 33)
BACK Dort back 4/20 after 3, 30 min since (101% of 29)
BACK Holmgren back 4/20 after 2, 29 min since (102% of 28)
BACK Hartenstein back 4/20 after 3, 23 min since (89% of 26)
BACK Wallace back 4/20 after 3, 21 min since (78% of 26)
BACK Caruso back 4/20 after 2, 21 min since (100% of 21)
BACK K. Williams back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (10% of 15)
OKC availability going into 5/07 · 1 day's restOUT Mitchell missed 2 since 4/26, returns tonight: 13 min (94% of 14)
BACK Gilgeous-Alexande back 4/20 after 3, 36 min since (103% of 35)
BACK Jal. Williams back 4/20 after 2, 35 min since (105% of 33)
BACK Dort back 4/20 after 3, 30 min since (102% of 29)
BACK Holmgren back 4/20 after 2, 29 min since (101% of 28)
BACK Hartenstein back 4/20 after 3, 25 min since (93% of 26)
BACK Wallace back 4/20 after 3, 21 min since (79% of 26)
BACK Caruso back 4/20 after 2, 22 min since (105% of 21)
BACK K. Williams back 4/26 after 2, 2 min since (10% of 15)
OKC availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 4/26 after 2, 7 min since (45% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/07 after 2, 13 min since (94% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 4/26 after 2, 7 min since (45% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/07 after 2, 13 min since (94% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT K. Williams missed 2 since 5/09, out tonight
OUT Mitchell missed 2 since 5/09, out tonight
OKC availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restOUT K. Williams missed 3 since 5/09, out tonight
OUT Mitchell missed 3 since 5/09, returns tonight: 1 min (5% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/18 · 2 days' restOUT K. Williams missed 4 since 5/09, returns tonight: 8 min (52% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/07 after 2, 7 min since (49% of 14)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 24 free throws a game; Murray at 23 and Jokić at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 30 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-6 a night and OKC minus-3 and the turnovers, Denver giving it away 14 times a game to OKC's 9. Call it OKC 118, Denver 115, Denver keeping it close.
5/01 @ LAC 105-111 — DEN notes
DEN lost 105-111. DEN shot 52% (44 of 84) to LAC's 50%, 11 of 27 from three, and got to the line 9 times to LAC's 15. DEN turned it over 12 times to LAC's 7, and LAC turned those into 9 steals. Jokić led with 25 (11 of 22, 2 of 4 from three); Murray added 21, Gordon 19. Q4 was theirs, 26-21, the deficit cut from 11 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 90-79 against them. Porter Jr.'s -24 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/03 vs LAC 120-101 — DEN notes
DEN won 120-101. DEN shot 52% (47 of 90) to LAC's 48%, 11 of 29 from three. The glass went 46-36 for them. Gordon led with 22 (9 of 16, 0 of 3 from three); Braun added 21, Murray 16. The hinge was Q2, 37-21: DEN came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 11, and the lead reached 35. Porter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
5/05 @ OKC 121-119 — DEN notes
DEN won 121-119. DEN shot 44% (42 of 95) to OKC's 42%, 10 of 32 from three. DEN turned it over 18 times to OKC's 9, and OKC turned those into 12 steals. The glass went 63-43 for them. Jokić led with 42 (15 of 29, 2 of 6 from three, 10 of 13 at the line); Gordon added 22, Murray 21. The hinge was Q4, 36-29: DEN came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 2. DEN trailed 50-60 at the half and won the second half 71-59.
5/07 @ OKC 106-149 — DEN notes
DEN lost 106-149. DEN shot 38% (33 of 87) to OKC's 56%, 15 of 37 from three. DEN turned it over 20 times to OKC's 9, and OKC turned those into 12 steals. Westbrook led with 19 (5 of 11, 1 of 4 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Jokić added 17, Murray 14. Q4 was theirs, 30-25, the deficit cut from 48 to 43, but the other 3 periods went 124-76 against them. Braun's -40 in 26 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/09 vs OKC 113-104 — DEN notes
DEN won 113-104 in 1 overtime. DEN shot 46% (39 of 85) to OKC's 38%, 16 of 40 from three. Murray led with 27 (9 of 19, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Gordon added 22, Porter Jr. 21. The hinge was OT1, 11-2: from level to 9 ahead. DEN trailed 51-56 at the half and won the second half 62-48. Gordon was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
5/11 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 117, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 113, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 31 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-5 a night and OKC minus-5 and the turnovers, Denver giving it away 15 times a game to OKC's 10. Call it OKC 118, Denver 114, Denver keeping it close.
5/13 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 108, shooting 43 percent and 30 from three, 29 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Jal. Williams at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 113, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 29 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Denver giving it away 15 times a game to OKC's 10 and the glass, where Denver has been plus-3 a night and OKC minus-4. Call it OKC 118, Denver 109.
5/15 vs OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 115, shooting 40 percent and 32 from three, 28 free throws a game; Jokić at 30 and Murray at 21 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 106, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Jal. Williams at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Denver giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 11 and the defense, OKC allowing 106 a night to Denver's 115. Call it OKC 115, Denver 111, Denver keeping it close.
5/18 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 106, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 25 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Jal. Williams at 17 a game. 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 41 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Murray at 22 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Denver giving it away 15 times a game to OKC's 12 and the defense, OKC allowing 106 a night to Denver's 113. Call it OKC 117, Denver 108.
4/24 @ MEM 114-108 — OKC notes
OKC won 114-108. OKC shot 45% (39 of 86) to MEM's 43%, 13 of 38 from three, and went to the line 33 times to MEM's 26 — 23 points from the stripe to their 22. OKC turned it over 11 times to MEM's 16. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 31 (10 of 26, 2 of 7 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Jal. Williams added 26, Holmgren 24. The hinge was Q3, 36-18: the deficit went from 26 to 8. OKC trailed 51-77 at the half and won the second half 63-31. Holmgren was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/26 @ MEM 117-115 — OKC notes
OKC won 117-115. OKC shot 44% (41 of 94) to MEM's 46%, 7 of 35 from three. OKC turned it over 8 times to MEM's 21. The glass went 33-51 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 38 (13 of 24, 1 of 4 from three, 11 of 13 at the line); Jal. Williams added 23, Holmgren 11. The hinge was Q1, 34-31: from level to 3 ahead.
5/05 vs DEN 119-121 — OKC notes
OKC lost 119-121. OKC shot 42% (42 of 100) to DEN's 44%, 15 of 43 from three. OKC turned it over 9 times to DEN's 18. The glass went 43-63 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 33 (12 of 26, 2 of 6 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Caruso added 20, Jal. Williams 16. Q2 was theirs, 33-24, but the other 3 periods went 97-86 against them. They led by as many as 14.
5/07 vs DEN 149-106 — OKC notes
OKC won 149-106. OKC shot 56% (50 of 89) to DEN's 38%, 16 of 36 from three. OKC turned it over 9 times to DEN's 20. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 34 (11 of 13, 11 of 11 at the line); Jal. Williams added 17, Holmgren 15. The hinge was Q1, 45-21: from level to 24 ahead, and the lead reached 49. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +51.
5/09 @ DEN 104-113 — OKC notes
OKC lost 104-113 in 1 overtime. OKC took 19 more shots (104 to 85), fed by 18 offensive rebounds, but shot 38% to DEN's 46%, 9 of 35 from three. Jal. Williams led with 32 (11 of 21, 3 of 7 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Gilgeous-Alexander added 18, Holmgren 18. Q1 was theirs, 28-22, but the other 4 periods went 91-76 against them. Jal. Williams's -11 in 43 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/11 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 117, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 113, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 31 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-5 a night and OKC minus-5 and the turnovers, Denver giving it away 15 times a game to OKC's 10. Call it OKC 118, Denver 114, Denver keeping it close.
5/13 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 108, shooting 43 percent and 30 from three, 29 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Jal. Williams at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 113, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 29 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Murray at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Denver giving it away 15 times a game to OKC's 10 and the glass, where Denver has been plus-3 a night and OKC minus-4. Call it OKC 118, Denver 109.
5/15 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 115, shooting 40 percent and 32 from three, 28 free throws a game; Jokić at 30 and Murray at 21 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 106, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Jal. Williams at 19 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Denver giving it away 16 times a game to OKC's 11 and the defense, OKC allowing 106 a night to Denver's 115. Call it OKC 115, Denver 111, Denver keeping it close.
5/18 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 106, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 25 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Jal. Williams at 17 a game. 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 113, shooting 41 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Murray at 22 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Denver giving it away 15 times a game to OKC's 12 and the defense, OKC allowing 106 a night to Denver's 113. Call it OKC 117, Denver 108.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCAC A. Caruso
AW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IH I. Hartenstein
IJ I. Joe
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
JM J. Murray
JO Jokic
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RW R. Westbrook
OKC/DEN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Murray and Porter lead the Nuggets to a 113-104 bounce-back win over the Thunder
DENVER -- — The Denver Nuggets knew bouncing back from their 43-point loss would mean hanging with the tubro-charged, top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder so that they could tap into their experience, home environment and closing prowess.
And that's exactly how they won Game 3 on Friday night, beating the Thunder 113-104 in overtime behind 27 points from Jamal Murray , 22 from Aaron Gordon and 21 from one-armed Michael Porter Jr ., who had his best game since spraining his left shoulder in the first game of the playoffs.
Just like in Game 1, which they stole on Gordon's 3-pointer at the end, the Nuggets trailed most of the night and led by no more than two points in regulation before going on an 11-2 run in the extra period when the high-flying Thunder cashed in on just one of their nine possessions.
“I do believe late in games you can rely on what you've seen and felt and done,” interim coach David Adelson said of the Nuggets, who are two years removed from an NBA title.
The Nuggets took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series despite an off-night from Nikola Jokic , who had eight turnovers and missed 17 of 25 shots, including all 10 of his 3-pointers. He finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds and six assists.
“I mean, 20, 16 and six, what an awful NBA night,” cracked Adelman.
“I'm sure he's frustrated,” Adelman added, “when you're so efficient, maybe arguably one of the most efficient players to ever play any sport. Yeah, I get it. I get why he's frustrated. But Game 4 is going to come and he's going to touch it a million times. Hope he shoots it all the time.”
Game 4 is Sunday at Ball Arena.
Jokic started the overtime flourish with a finger-roll layup and the Nuggets never trailed again.
“It's obviously lousy to lose," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "But you can take a lot away, and we want to be a team that’s improving through the series. ... I thought we did a lot of good things -- did a lot of good things on (Jokic). It was a really hard-fought game by both teams. It wasn’t an easy game for anybody.”
The other NBA MVP front-runner, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , also had a tough night, missing 15 of 22 shots, going 1 for 6 from deep and finishing with 18 points. Jalen Williams led OKC with 32 points and Chet Holmgren chipped in 18.
It was tied at 102 after regulation, and both Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic missed potential winners in the closing seconds of regulation. SGA missed a 12-foot jumper with 3 seconds left, and Joker missed a 19-footer at the buzzer.
“Losses always sting, especially in the playoffs," Daigneault said. “But what I would say is we are in the process of becoming a great team, and we’ve checked a lot of boxes in that process. One thing that it takes to be a great team is you get taken to the limit in the playoffs, and you’ve got a rise to the challenges that you’re confronted with.”