Game ID: 42400226
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Denver Nuggets
Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 8:30 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 31 27 32 29 119OKC 28 33 21 25 107
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 5/07 · 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 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)
OKC availability going into 5/22 · 1 day's restBACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 9 min since (58% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 3 min since (24% of 14)
OKC availability going into 5/24 · 1 day's restOUT Jay. Williams missed 2 since 5/20, returns tonight: 17 min (120% of 14)
BACK K. Williams back 5/18 after 4, 6 min since (42% of 15)
BACK Mitchell back 5/15 after 3, 3 min since (24% of 14)
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.
5/07 @ 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 105-112 — DEN notes
DEN lost 105-112. DEN took 15 more shots (97 to 82), fed by 16 offensive rebounds, but shot 41% to OKC's 50%, 13 of 46 from three, and got to the line 13 times to OKC's 23. Jokić led with 44 (17 of 25, 5 of 7 from three); Murray added 28, Gordon 13. Q3 was theirs, 30-24, but the other 3 periods went 88-75 against them. They led by as many as 12. Braun's -11 in 43 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/15 vs OKC 119-107 — DEN notes
DEN won 119-107. DEN shot 47% (40 of 86) to OKC's 47%, 12 of 32 from three, and went to the line 32 times to OKC's 16 — 27 points from the stripe to their 10. The glass went 52-40 for them. Jokić led with 29 (9 of 14, 1 of 3 from three, 10 of 12 at the line); Murray added 25, Braun 23. The hinge was Q3, 32-21: DEN came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 8, and the lead reached 16. DEN trailed 58-61 at the half and won the second half 61-46. Murray was the night's best plus/minus at +28.
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.
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 112-105 — OKC notes
OKC won 112-105. OKC shot 50% (41 of 82) to DEN's 41%, 12 of 29 from three, and went to the line 23 times to DEN's 13 — 18 points from the stripe to their 12. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 31 (12 of 23, 1 of 3 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Jal. Williams added 18, Hartenstein 15. The hinge was Q4, 34-19: OKC came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 7. OKC trailed 54-56 at the half and won the second half 58-49. Holmgren was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
5/15 @ DEN 107-119 — OKC notes
OKC lost 107-119. OKC shot 47% (43 of 92) to DEN's 47%, 11 of 40 from three, and got to the line 16 times to DEN's 32. The glass went 40-52 against them. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 32 (11 of 16, 2 of 4 from three, 8 of 11 at the line); Holmgren added 19, Caruso 10. Q2 was theirs, 33-27, turning a 3-point deficit into a 3-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 92-74 against them. They led by as many as 12. Dort's -18 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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.
5/22 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 98, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 31 and Jal. Williams at 15 a game. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 105, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Randle at 27 and Edwards at 25 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 17 times a game to OKC's 12 and the arc, Minnesota at 39 percent from three to OKC's 33. Call it OKC 112, Minnesota 106.
5/24 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 22 free throws a game; Edwards at 28 and Randle at 24 a game. One day's rest. OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 102, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 23 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 33 and Jal. Williams at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Minnesota giving it away 18 times a game to OKC's 10 and the defense, OKC allowing 102 a night to Minnesota's 110. Call it OKC 112, Minnesota 108, 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
AM A. Mitchell
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
A sick Jamal Murray scores 25 points, Nuggets beat Thunder 119-107 to force Game 7
DENVER -- — A sick Jamal Murray may have been questionable for Game 6, but in his mind there was nothing ambiguous about his playing status.
“Absolutely not,” Murray said when asked if there was any chance he'd have sat out the game.
Murray scored 25 points and powered the Denver Nuggets past the Thunder 119-107 Thursday night, sending the series back to Oklahoma City for a decisive Game 7.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also had no doubt.
“Yeah, I knew he was going to play, obviously in a do-or-die situation for them,” SGA said. “And they came out with a sense of urgency and jumped on us right away.”
After being sick for 24 hours, Murray ignited the Nuggets with a four-point play to start things off and sank a step-back 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter that pushed Denver's lead into double digits.
Nikola Jokic led Denver with 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, and Christian Braun scored a career playoff-best 23 points. But it was second-year reserve guard Julian Strawther who ignited the Nuggets' runaway, scoring a career playoff-high 15 points, all in the second half.
“Julian played huge for us, made real big shots," Aaron Gordon said. “I don't think that's something that they game-planned for.”
Strawther had a pair of 3s and a layup during the decisive 10-0 third-quarter spurt and he kept making big plays at both ends in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets finally had a laugher in this exhaustive, physical series.
Case in point: Strawther lost a crown in the fourth quarter. A ballboy retrieved the artificial tooth from the circle when the action went to the other end.
Gordon grabbed at his left hamstring late in the game and hobbled through the final few minutes, but he insisted he'd be fine for Game 7, which is Sunday, with the Minnesota Timberwolves awaiting the winner after dispatching Golden State in five games.
If he's good to go, that would be a huge relief for Denver interim coach David Adelman, who called Gordon “the reason why we've won games and won series and have a banner hanging up.”
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points, but he didn’t get enough help from his teammates to clinch Oklahoma City's first trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2016. All-Star Jalen Williams scored six points on 3-of-16 shooting.
The Nuggets, who won the title two years ago, finally get two days off after a grueling past few weeks. They have played every other day since April 29.
“The guys in there looked like they were happier to have tomorrow off than they were about going to a Game 7,” Adelman said.
The Thunder have only lost back-to-back games twice this season, once in November and once in early April. However, this will be the current iteration's first win-or-go-home game.
“First of all, credit Denver — they threw a punch tonight as has happened in the series, both teams are exchanging blows," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “They got theirs in tonight, and both teams have done a great job of standing back up, including us, and we need to do that on Sunday.”