The Denver Nuggets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-119 in what might be the most incredible win of the Nikola Jokic era.
Aaron Gordon had 22 points and 14 rebounds, hitting his second game-winning shot of the playoffs, a transition three on the left wing after the Thunder tried to play the foul game. Chet Holmgren missed two free throws with nine seconds to go, and with the Thunder only up one, they couldn’t foul. The Nuggets took advantage of the confusion, and Gordon hit an absolutely lethal three-pointer to give the Nuggets their first lead in what felt like hours.
AARON GORDON 3 FOR THE WIN!!!@nuggets take Game 1 in a THRILLER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/fxV2ReRPZA
— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2025
Here’s the Notes from Game 1:
First Quarter:
- Nuggets began this game in a precise way shooting wise, including some impressive Jamal Murray plays
- Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each start this game 3-of-3 from the field, should be some fun matchups during this series
- OKC missing some open threes, but their defense continued to shine
- SGA was very good here, even as Jokic’s opportunities slowed down a bit, SGA continued to make an impact
- Alex Caruso entered this game and was immediately the most impactful player on the court with his defense. Just a fabulous two-way game from him
- Denver did initially generate a lead, but some hustle plays at the end of the quarter helped OKC even things up
Nuggets trail 27-26 after first quarter.
Second Quarter:
- Julian Strawther minutes as the Nuggets play another guard/wing to try and deal with OKC’s perimeter talent
- Thunder go on a run in non-Jokic minutes
- Murray a bit sloppy to start the quarter, some turnovers and forced passes, trying to deal with press defense almost every possession (just make someone else bring the ball up!)
- Jokic also making some mistakes trying to handle the ball pressure from OKC, though he helped get Chet Holmgren and others into foul trouble with elite rebounding and physicality
- Nuggets mostly daring the Thunder to shoot threes with mixed results, Lu Dort finally got some threes to go over Jokic
- Massive Aaron Gordon dunk over Holmgren!
- Denver outside shooters really struggling, 2-of-15 through the first half, Murray has the only two makes
- Porter really struggled in first half, just 1-of-8 from the field with two points and some poor decision making, looks tired
Nuggets trail 60-50 at halftime.
Third Quarter:
- Jokic and Murray commit three horrible turnovers in the first two minutes, forcing an early timeout, Nuggets not allowing themselves to execute the game plan because they can’t get shots on the rim
- Alex Caruso started the third quarter in place of Isaiah Hartenstein, Caruso is a one-man wrecking crew defensively, just insane, 5 steals and 2 blocks in 14 minutes at 7:03 in third quarter
- Denver somehow staying attached to OKC because the Thunder aren’t an elite shooting team
- MASSIVE Russell Westbrook minutes, big corner three, and And-1 off a cut, just playing hard
- Jokic rebounding everything, Denver winning the possession battle that way despite losing the turnover battle
- A lot of great Christian Braun hustle, finished the game with 13 rebounds, several came in this quarter
Nuggets trail 90-85 after third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
- Peyton Watson making impact plays with length, hustle, and even a three-pointer. Plus-minus didn’t reflect it but he was valuable
- Jokic re-enters early, Nuggets going for it in Game 1 to try and steal
- Thunder making just enough plays to stay at arm’s reach, including some impressive SGA baskets
- Jokic getting going but got hit with a flagrant foul after throwing an elbow with Lu Dort in his personal space
- Jokic threes finally dropping just in time
- Denver in the bonus and OKC just kept fouling and stopping the clock over and over again, Denver with a ton of free throws in the fourth
- Thunder tried fouling up three but Nuggets kept making two free throws apiece
- Chet Holmgren goes to the free throw line with nine seconds left and bricks both free throws. Denver down 1 with zero timeouts, Braun outlets to Westbrook, who swings it to Gordon, who absolutely cans a clutch game-winning three over Holmgren with two seconds to go. No Thunder timeouts and the Nuggets win!
Nuggets win 121-119 vs Oklahoma City Thunder.
Short Takeaway
I gave the Nuggets very little chance in this game. They played a Game 7 two days ago! The Thunder had been resting for nine days! In the end, it was the rust from Holmgren and the Thunder that made the larger impact as the Nuggets dug deep into their mental and physical reserves to earn an incredible victory.
Jokic deserves a ton of credit. He played far from a perfect game with seven turnovers and five fouls, but he carried the burden of so much pressure against this Thunder team on both ends of the floor. For the first time in a while, Jokic just started to let it fly without thinking. He had committed a few too many turnovers early, and that led him to just put his head down a bit and will the Nuggets to keep this game close.
Jamal Murray had his moments on both ends. Christian Braun’s hustle was terrific. Russell Westbrook made some huge, huge plays. Even Peyton Watson off the bench got in on the action.
But in the end, this game was about Gordon. The work he has done this season to make himself a better player is tremendous. His injuries hid much of the progress he made in plain sight, but he’s now about as reliable of a shooter as the Nuggets have in big moments. His jump shot continues to shine, and it couldn’t have happened to a harder-working player who accepted his role and bore that responsibility well.
This is now, officially, a playoff series.
Final Rotations
