The Denver Nuggets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-107 in Game 6 to force a Game 7, their second straight seven-game series of the playoffs.
Nikola Jokic led the way with an efficient 29 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists, playing a fantastic brand of basketball without forcing anything too far. Jamal Murray, in the midst of a sick game, gutted out 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. He was a +28 in 42 minutes of a game the Nuggets won by 12. Christian Braun was the third starter to put up a big performance with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists of his own to go with three steals and a block.
But the biggest story was Julian Strawther, who gave the Nuggets great minutes off the bench and flipped the momentum of Game 6 on its head with some shotmaking of his own.
Here’s the Notes from Game 6:
First Quarter:
- Nervous energy in the building at Ball Arena which often comes in a closeout game, but the moment the Nuggets started playing well, the crowd got very, very loud.
- Jamal Murray was questionable pregame with an illness, but he started the game well with 11 points in the quarter on five shots despite appearing visually ill
- Jokic making plays on both ends of the floor. His defense on Jalen Williams this series has been really good
- Aaron Gordon had five assists in his nine minutes and change. Denver as a whole was moving the ball really well
- Once the subs entered, Denver lost a lot of momentum, Russell Westbrook really struggled in particular and the Nuggets gave up an 8-1 run to close
Nuggets lead 31-28 after first quarter.
Second Quarter:
- Westbrook a bit better but still making some detrimental plays, three turnovers in four minutes before Nuggets subbed him out
- Aaron Gordon and Alex Caruso had to be separated during a dead ball, but the resulting ball pressure from Caruso led to a turnover by Braun and dunk on the other end
- This quarter became an absolute grift-off between both teams with several trips to the free throw line and several controversial calls following the skirmish
- SGA picked up his fourth foul late in the second quarter after Nikola Jokic stole the ball, that may loom large in second half
- Nuggets went down 12 but recovered to within three following the SGA foul trouble
- Braun hitting big threes in the first half, 3-of-4 from three right when he had to be
Nuggets trail 61-58 at halftime.
Third Quarter:
- Good start for the Nuggets out of half with good defensive pressure, and both Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic had success getting to the paint on offense
- SGA making plays over and over again to keep this thing close until he went to the bench for an early sub due to those four fouls
- Nuggets were unable to separate for a while, taking jumpers consistently that weren’t going down, though they were good looks
- Jalen Williams having another rough game as a scorer, though he did finish the game with 10 assists, setting the table for outside shooters
- The Julian Strawther game! Strawther scored eight of Denver’s final 10 points of the quarter to propel Denver to a lead in the fourth. The spacing boost was very, very important
Nuggets lead 90-82 after third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
- Jokic resting to start fourth, Nuggets still make the plays they needed to stay separated, including a huge Murray three-pointer
- Watson struggled finishing around the rim but made an unbelievable block in transition that led to Nuggets points on the other end
- At one point, SGA simply ran into Jokic, fell down, and drew a foul call with Jokic in utter disbelief
- Jokic took over as a playmaker to end the game with a three-pointer followed by some incredible passes to set the table for Braun and Strawther
- Strawther staying on the floor throughout crunch time and hit some big shots, also held up defensively as reasonably as could be asked for
- A bit of sloppiness down the stretch, also Aaron Gordon grabbing at the back of his hamstring, but Denver got the job done
Nuggets win 119-107 vs Oklahoma City Thunder.
Short Takeaway
The foul calls early in this game had a lot of sway on how the rest of the game went. Both fan bases will be upset with the officiating, but OKC definitely got the short end of the stick with four fouls on SGA in the first half and a 32-16 free throw attempt advantage for Denver. The Nuggets made those extra attempts count with 27 points at the charity stripe.
Still, this was a game about resilience from Denver’s side, responding when adversity hit and when the game got close. Of all the people to get Denver “unstuck” in this one, it was Julian Strawther coming off the bench with 15 points on 4-of-8 from the field, 3-of-4 from three, and 4-of-4 from the line. The Nuggets were +4 in his minutes, and having a spacer to keep OKC honest at all times when guarding Jokic and Murray was very important down the stretch.
Can the Nuggets do this thing again? After playing seven games in the first round, do they really have the energy to go to war again and get out of the second round? OKC will bring a better effort than they had in Game 6, but the Nuggets are the veteran team. This will be Jokic and Murray’s seventh Game 7 as a duo, so they know what to expect. This will also be OKC’s first game with their season on the line.
Whatever the case, the fact that Denver has pushed OKC to the brink says a lot about their team and how much they’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time. They’re a better team than they were to end the regular season, a championship caliber team. Let’s see if that’s enough to make it happen on Sunday following two days off.
Final Rotations
