Thunder 121-119 Nuggets, who is the sinner of this game

On May 6, 2025, in the G1 of the NBA Playoffs Western Conference Semi-Finals, the Nuggets narrowly defeated the Thunder 121-119 away. In the first quarter, the Nuggets started 7-2 with Jokic's strong inside attack, but the Thunder scored 10-0 to take the lead at the end of the quarter through Jaylen Williams' three consecutive steals and Caruso's three steals. The Thunder substitutes Wallace, Wiggins and others opened fire from the outside in the second quarter, and the net win of 12 points in a single quarter widened the gap to double digits. After the change of sides, the Nuggets started the scoring mode under Jokic's leadership, scoring 35 points in a single quarter to close the gap to 5 points. In the final quarter, the Thunder once established a 14-point advantage, but Jokic scored 11 points in a row in the last 3 minutes, Gordon scored a three-pointer, and Homegren missed two free throws to ruin the victory. The loss in this game made the Thunder's home advantage in the playoffs vain, and the psychological level of the series suffered a heavy blow.

What are the wonderful performances of the Nuggets vs. Thunder in today's game? Let's take a look at the game data and you can see it at a glance.

Shay Gilgers-Alexander-point guard: Score: 33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover, 12-26 shot, 2-6 three-pointers, 7-9 free throws, today's performance interprets the tragic hero's timidity. The signature made 9 of 15 shots in the middle, and Westbrook scored four consecutive singles in the third quarter. However, the efficiency outside the three-point line was poor, with only 2 goals in 6 shots. I was too persistent in singles at the critical stage, and missed three strong shots in the last 2 minutes. Behind the data of only one mistake in the whole game was the loss of invisible ball rights caused by multiple forced moves.

Jaylen Williams - Small Forward: Score: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover, 5-20 shots, 2-9 three-pointers, 4-6 free throws, today's performance is a contradictory complex. He frequently chose high-difficulty backward jump shots on the offensive end. His shooting percentage plummeted to 25% when facing Braun's close defense, and only 2 of his 9 shots from outside the three-point line were made. But he contributed the team's highest two blocks on the defensive end, and the second quarter interfered with Jokic's back-to-back singles was a textbook defense. On the tactical level, he converted three of his four assists in the elbow area to score a three-point goal, but hesitated to deal with the ball in the critical round, resulting in a fatal pass mistake in the last minute of the game.

Homegren-Power Forward: Score: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 2 turnovers, 5-11 shot, 0-3 three-pointers, 2-4 free throws, today's performance confirmed the positioning of "top defenders". Facing Jokic's giant palm, he used his 2.33-meter wingspan to complete four blocks, including two consecutive blocks in the third quarter, Murray broke through and layup to detonate his home court. But he was completely lost on the offensive end, and the three-point line was not collected. He was defended by Jokic to 1 of 5 shots. What's even more fatal is that both free throws were lost in the last 17 seconds, which directly led to the team losing the initiative.

Haltenstein-Center: Score: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 6-12 shot, 0-0 free throws, 1} His performance today was like a roller coaster. The frontcourt rebounds were extremely fierce, with four of the offensive rebounds converted into second-time scoring, and in the third quarter, he grabbed rebounds and assisted Alexander in a mid-range shot. But the defensive end has become the Nuggets' key target of attack. Jokic made 7 of 9 shots in his main defense period, and 3 of them used their dream steps to complete 2+1. The defensive position selection mistake at a critical moment in the fourth quarter caused a big disaster. Gordon, who directly cut in, made a big mistake.

Luganz Dort - Point Guard: Score: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover, 4-9 shot, 4-9 three-pointer, 2-2 free throw, 2-2

His performance today was a three-pointer sniper. He made 4 goals in the first 8 three-pointers, including two consecutive three-pointers in the corner in the second quarter to stop the Nuggets. The defensive end of Murray has achieved significant results, suppressing the opponent's three-point shooting percentage to 28.6%. But after overdrawing his physical strength in the fourth quarter, he missed Braun's empty cuts, allowing his opponent to score 6 points in the last 3 minutes.

Alex Caruso - Substitute: Score: 20 points, 1 rebound, 6 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, 7-12 shots, 5-9 three-pointers, 1-2 free throws, 1-2

His performance today was the best sixth man. Three of the 5 steals were directly converted into fast break scoring, and Jokic made a cross-pass in the late second quarter to complete a buzzer-beating layup. He made 5 of 9 shots from outside the three-point line to set a career playoff high, with two of the ultra-long three-pointers hitting at 24 seconds. But the sideline serve mistake at the last moment made the Thunder lose the opportunity to expand the score.

Bench surprise and invisible war criminals: Thunder substitutes

When the camera swept across the Thunder bench, you will see Carson Wallace holding his head in his hands - this regular season three-point shooting percentage is 41%, and he lost all four shots today and lost three fouls. Aaron Wiggins contributed his textbook-level bottom corner position. The three-pointer he made was the best running case in this game, but unfortunately his playing time was shortened to 13 minutes. The most heartbreaking thing is Isaiah Joe, a shooter who saved the team many times in the regular season, made 0 of 4 three-pointers in this game, like a spell being cast. Every time you make a move, you can hear the "bang" echo from the basket. Jaylin Williams' buzzer-beating three-pointer almost became a topic of conversation for Thunder fans all night. Unfortunately, he missed his defense twice in a row, perfectly interpreting what it means to "success or failure or failure" is.