Game ID: 42400224
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Denver Nuggets
Sunday, May 11, 2025 at 3:30 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 8 28 33 18 87OKC 17 25 21 29 92
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 5/03 · 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 4/26 · 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)
OKC availability going into 5/20 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 8 min since (52% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 4 min since (30% 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 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.
5/03 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 87-92 — DEN notes
DEN lost 87-92. DEN shot 31% (25 of 80) to OKC's 36%, 11 of 45 from three, and went to the line 36 times to OKC's 26 — 26 points from the stripe to their 20. Jokić led with 27 (7 of 22, 2 of 8 from three, 11 of 14 at the line); Braun added 17, Murray 17. Q3 was theirs, 33-21, turning a 6-point deficit into a 6-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 71-54 against them. Westbrook's -20 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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.
4/26 @ 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 92-87 — OKC notes
OKC won 92-87. OKC shot 36% (31 of 87) to DEN's 31%, 10 of 41 from three, and got to the line 26 times to DEN's 36. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 25 (8 of 19, 0 of 5 from three, 9 of 12 at the line); Wallace added 11, Wiggins 11. The hinge was Q4, 29-18: OKC came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 5, and the lead reached 15.
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.
5/20 vs MIN — 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 108 a night and allowing 103, shooting 44 percent and 29 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 28 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 102, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Randle at 25 a game. That is 4 straight wins. 5 days' rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the arc, Minnesota at 38 percent from three to OKC's 29 and the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 12. Call it OKC 111, Minnesota 107, Minnesota keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
JM J. Murray
JS J. Strawther
JO Jokic
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RW R. Westbrook
OKCAC A. Caruso
AW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IH I. Hartenstein
IJ I. Joe
JW J. Williams
JW Jal. Williams
JW Jay. Williams
LD L. Dort
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
DEN/OKC 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
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 25 points and leads Thunder past Denver 92-87 to tie series 2-2
DENVER -- — The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets at their own game Sunday.
The NBA's youngest team made all the clutch plays in crunch time against an experienced squad teeming with a championship pedigree, knotting the second-round series with a 92-87 win in Game 4.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, pulling the top-seeded Thunder from the brink of a 3-1 deficit against a Denver team known for closing out games while winning six of its last seven playoff series — and the two tight games earlier in this series that resumes Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.
About 36 hours after an exhausting overtime Game 3 Friday night, the early Mother’s Day tip-off produced an ugly first half that featured a combined 25 points in the first quarter and ended with OKC up 42-36 at the break.
“Quick turnaround with an early game today, we made an intentional effort to use our depth today and get everybody going,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.
Down by eight points early in the fourth quarter, the Thunder used an 11-0 run fueled by reserves Cason Wallace , who had a pair of 3-pointers, and Aaron Wiggins , who added another, to wrest control.
Wallace's second 3-pointer put Oklahoma City ahead for good at 75-73.
“I really thought the difference in the game was their bench kind of lit a fuse for them,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “They made 3s ... pretty incredible in a game where the two teams shoot 21 of 86 from 3."
Denver looked poised to put the top-seeded team in the West on the cusp of elimination when Aaron Gordon 's turnaround jumper made it 73-66.
This time, however, it was the Thunder who came up big down the stretch and the Nuggets who fumbled away the chance to put OKC in a 3-1 hole. Denver's many late miscues included a key five-second inbounds violation.
Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 13 rebounds but his three assists were a low for this playoff run and gave him 22 assists to go with 23 turnovers in this second-round series.
Jokic said he never thinks about fatigue so he didn't blame anything or anyone else for Denver's 31% shooting clip and 34 missed 3s. And Adelman wouldn't go so far as to say the NBA erred with the early tip-off, either.
“I don't want to say that,” Adelman said. “I will say that both teams were very tired coming off an unbelievably physical overtime battle late Friday night. ... I mean, both of us had super tired legs, so it was about who's going to make that final run.”
Not his team, not this time.
“We fought. We stayed the course," Gilgeous-Alexander said, "... and then we closed the game.”
The Thunder simply don't have Denver's playoff pedigree but Daigneault said his team is gaining that much-needed experience by the day.
“Every time you take punches and you get back up, you get stronger,” he said. “That’s what we’re preaching to our team. We lost a tough one the other night in overtime. We stood back up today."