Recapping OKC Thunder's 2025 Second Round Against Denver Nuggets

The Thunder's two blowout wins and two close wins led to a +63 total point differential, making the series more lopsided than most seven-gamers. The Nuggets won Game 3 in overtime, 113-104, and earned a 12-point elimination Game 6 victory on May 15.

Oklahoma City recorded a lower turnover percentage in all seven games, a higher effective field goal percentage in four games, a higher offensive rebound percentage in two games and a higher free throw rate in two games.

Two-way turnovers dragged the Thunder halfway to every team's ultimate dream.

Thunder Player of the Series: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Gilgeous-Alexander bounced back after uncharacteristically poor scoring efficiency against the Grizzlies. He averaged 29.7 points on 52.9% shooting, 6.6 assists, 6.4 rebounds (1.4 offensive), 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks in 37.6 minutes per game. The 2024-25 MVP and scoring champion shot 22-for-30 (73.3%) at the rim and 41-for-78 (52.6%) on mid-range attempts.

The seventh-year guard provided stellar consistency, registering a positive box plus-minus and at least a 15.0 game score in all seven appearances. Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 34 points on 11-for-13 shooting, eight assists, four rebounds (two offensive) and a playoff-record +51 plus-minus in Game 2.

He saved his best performance for last, finishing with 35 points on 12-for-19 shooting (3-for-4 3-pointers), four assists, three rebounds, three steals, a block, no turnovers and a +32 plus-minus in Oklahoma City's winner-take-all bludgeoning.

Nuggets Player of the Series: Nikola Jokic

Jokic also put together a better series than his first-round output against the LA Clippers. The 30-year-old big man averaged 28.4 points on 47.9% shooting, 13.9 rebounds (2.6 offensive), 5.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks in 40.4 minutes per game, although he committed 31 total turnovers.

The MVP runner-up produced higher highs and lower lows than Gilgeous-Alexander. Jokic recorded four games with a double-digit box plus-minus (two negative) and three game scores above 30.0. He logged 42 points on 15-for-29 shooting, 22 rebounds (five offensive), six assists, two blocks, a steal, seven turnovers and a +10 plus-minus in Denver's series-opening victory.

Jokic's best second-round game occurred in a Nuggets loss. He racked up 44 points on 17-for-25 shooting (5-for-7 3-pointers), 15 rebounds (six offensive), five assists and two steals in Game 5.

Memorable Game of the Series: Game 5

The score brought nine ties and two lead changes. Both teams scored 50 paint points. Both teams scored 14 points off turnovers. The Thunder made two more 2-pointers, and the Nuggets made one more 3-pointer. The Nuggets won the first, second and third quarters, but the home team outscored the underdog by 15 points in the final frame.

Game 5 saw Oklahoma City redeem itself from the 2024 second round with an extremely gutty win.

Jokic played like a superhero, Gilgeous-Alexander turned in another star performance and they each made countless clutch-time plays. The Serbian superstar scored four fourth-quarter field goals, including an absurd one-legged 3-pointer over Chet Holmgren, as his teammates missed 14 of their 15 attempts. The Canadian superstar registered three field goals and three assists in the period, knocking down the game-clinching triple with 47 seconds left.

Both MVPs lived up to the hype, and the Thunder's defense and depth ensured a series win despite dealing with loads of trouble.