NBA Playoffs: What’s next for the team after the exit of the early first round?
Some teams that lose in the first round of the playoffs should be within five words.
Jamal Murry Ill, Michael Porter Jr. Hurt and their season in the season, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-107 in Game 6 on Thursday, forcing Game 7 in the NBA Playoff Western Conference Semi-Final Series.
Denver dominated the second half of the wildly enthusiastic game.
Murray got sick on Wednesday, feeling sick and received medicine and liquids from the team’s medical staff. He didn’t take part in his regular pre-match routine, but he scored 11 of his 25 points in the first quarter and fought through illness.
Porter, who normally suffers a shoulder injury that walks off players for weeks, scored 10 points.
And the 2023 champion, the Nuggets, will not be able to play another game without the performance of MVP finalist Nikola Jokic, who has collected 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Christian Brown added 23 points and Julian Stroser, who hadn’t scored more than nine points in the playoff games this season, scored 15 points in the second half for the Nuggets.
The Thunder struggled offensively in the second half after scoring 61 points in the first half. In the final two quarters, Oklahoma City scored 46 points, 19-50 from the field.
Thunder MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 32 points, while Big Man Chet Holmgren scored 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Game 7 is Sunday in Oklahoma City (3:30pm, ABC).
After winning a franchise record 68 games this season, the Thunder, the top seed in the West for the second consecutive season, is under pressure. They lost in the conference semi-finals last year and preferred to reach the conference finals.
The home team wins Game 7 with the best 73.9% (113-40) at 73.9%. However, in the past few seasons, it has been common for road teams to win Game 7. Golden State did it in the first round this season against Houston, which happened twice in 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021.
Keep up with all the highlights of Game 6:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exlc-o-qzew
Nuggets have been forced to play Game 7 for 12 minutes. Denver has a 90-82 lead with the Thunder heading into the fourth quarter. Denver’s Julian Strausser was explosive from the bench, earning all eight of his points in the third quarter. Jamal Murray added 22 points and Nikola Djokic already has a double double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has up to 24 points for Oklahoma City despite playing in four fouls. Chet Holmgren also has a double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort went on to run out in the second quarter, hitting a 23-foot 3 and heading the Sunder for a 61-58 lead to halftime. Dort’s shot ended the quarter after finishing the Nuggets 12-0 run. However, the big storyline that comes out from the first half is Shy Gilgas Alexander’s foul trouble. Gilgeous-Alexander scored his fourth foul in the first half with 1:29 remaining and quickly checked out the game with a team high 14 points. This is the first time since October 2022 that he has won four personal fouls in the first half. He is not the only one. Isaiah Haltenstein (2 points) and Jaylin Williams (8 points) each have three fouls, while Jalen Williams (6 points) has two. On the bright side, Gilgeous-Alexander has not been fouled out so far this year.
Meanwhile, Christian Brown leads the Nuggets with 15 points, shooting six-tenths, three- to three-quarters from the field. He also has four rebounds, three assists and three steels over the four quarters. Jamal Murray added 13 points, while Nicola Djokic has double watched with 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Despite surrendering five turnovers in the first quarter and handing over the nuggets by 10 points, the Thunder are within three points since Denver entered 31-28 in the second quarter. The Nuggets shot 54.5% from the field and four out of three to four, led by Jamal Murray. The Thunder shoots the same 54.5% from the field, adding three out of three to three. Lu Dort leads Thunder with 5 points.
Jamal Murray may not be feeling that hot, but he is heading for a sc fever start with Nuggets’ do-die game 6 with the Thunder. Murray held the contest with a four-point play after being fouled on a three-point shot by Isaiah Hartenstein. He has a game-high nine points throughout the opening six minutes of play. Denver extended the lead with a 7-0 run, extending the lead with 6:32 left in the first quarter after the Nuggets scored by intercepting and scoring with consecutive bad passes from Oklahoma City’s Lugenzdort and Scheizil Jualexander respectively.
Denver is sticking to the same starting lineup that it has used throughout the 2025 NBA playoffs. Guard Jamal Murray was listed as suspicious in the Nuggets’ injury report due to illness, but he’s trying it out.
- Jamal Murray, g
- Christian Brown, g
- Michael Porter Jr., f
- Aaron Gordon, f
- Nikola Jokic, c
- Shy Gilgaus Alexander, g
- Lu Dort, g
- Jalen Williams, f
- Chet Holmgren, f
- Isaiah Hertenstein, c
What time is the Nuggets and Thunder Game 6?
Game 6 between the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder will chip off at around 8:30pm ET on Thursday, May 15th at Ball Arena in Denver.
How to watch Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 6 6: TV, Stream
stream: Sling TvNuggets vs Thunder NBA Playoff Schedule, Results
time: 8:30pm
position: Ball Arena (Denver)
tv set: ESPN
Nuggets vs Thunder NBA Playoff Schedule, Results
(All Timeset. SeriesTied3-3)
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