The Oklahoma City Thunder rebounded from the gut-wrenching loss of Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Denver Nuggets by coming out and dominating in Game 2 on Wednesday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 34 points on 11-of-13 shooting, as well as 8 assists and 4 rebounds. 7 other Thunder players finished in double-digit scoring as OKC put away the Nuggets 149-106.
Electric energy on and off the court last night 🔋@royceyoung brings us his 3 Things from Game 2 🎤 pic.twitter.com/xSlkEtgiW8
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) May 8, 2025
The major difference between Game 1 and Game 2 was OKC’s ability to fight back on the boards, winning the rebounding battle in Game 2 by 6 after losing it by 20 in Game 1. Nikola Jokic fouled out late in the 3rd quarter of Game 2, but he was about to head to the bench for the night anyway after OKC had led by 30+ for a good chunk of the game up to that point.
Just like the outcome of the first two games had two very different results, there is no good idea of what to expect for Game 3. OKC appears to be re-focused and ready to play hard on both sides of the ball, but surely the Nuggets will not just roll over and accept defeat after a single loss. The battle continues, and while tonight’s meeting is not do-or-die for either team, it carries a lot of weight and certainly feels like whoever wins this one will almost surely win the series.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 9 PM CT
Location: Ball Arena (Denver, Colorado)
Television: ESPN
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 30-35 against the Nuggets in the regular season (18-16 at home, 12-19 on the road) and 5-2 in the Playoffs (4-1 at home, 1-1 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).
- OKC is tied with Denver 1-1 in the Western Conference Semifinals (1-1 at home, 0-0 on the road).