After more than a week of rest, the Oklahoma City Thunder finally gets to play another playoff game as they kick off the Western Conference Semifinals at home on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets wrapped up their first-round series on Saturday night with a Game 7 victory over the LA Clippers, so they’re not quite as rested.
Good morning, Loud City 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/afrz9lEe9v
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 5, 2025
NBA teams are 14-1 when having swept their previous round’s opponent and facing an opponent who is coming off a 7-game series. While the odds are clearly in the Thunder’s favor, they cannot expect to walk through the 2023 NBA Champions. The Nuggets are a team that can turn things on at just the right time, and OKC needs to keep doing what they have done all season long to get ot his point, and that is to keep the focus on defense.
Nikola Jokic is arguably the best player on the planet, and the Thunder’s defensive strategy is going to center on slowing the big man down. Jokic struggled at times against the Clippers, and it’s what gave LA a shot at winning the series. Without his output, the Nuggets have a difficult time scoring, as they’re really not that deep of a team.
Meanwhile, for OKC, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander should be announced as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player very soon, and he didn’t have that great of a first round either. Memphis had him frustrated, but other guys like Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were able to step up and fill the gaps. SGA has a lot riding on his shoulders in terms of how far OKC goes in these Playoffs, and with the matchup of MVP candidates, fans can expect him to do whatever it takes to help the Thunder keep moving forward.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 8:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: TNT
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Denver Nuggets Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Nuggets
- PG: Jamal Murray
- SG: Christian Braun
- SF: Michael Porter Jr.
- PF: Aaron Gordon
- C: Nikola Jokic
Injury Report
Thunder
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
Nuggets
- DaRon Holmes (right Achilles tendon repair) is OUT.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 30-34 against the Nuggets (18-15 at home, 12-19 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Nuggets 7 times, lost it 8 times, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 2-2 against the Nuggets in the regular season (1-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).