The Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets are heading to a do-or-die Game 7 on Sunday.
The Thunder, the top seed in the Western Conference, could have punched their ticket to the conference finals of the 2025 NBA playoffs on Thursday night in Denver, but the Nuggets had other ideas and pulled out a 119-107 victory. Game 7 will be back in Oklahoma City on Sunday. The winner of that game will face the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Nuggets may be without Aaron Gordon, who hurt his hamstring late in the fourth quarter of Denver’s Game 6 win and is doubtful for the series finale.
In Game 6, Nikola Jokić had another big game for the Nuggets with 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists, but he got an enormous lift from his supporting cast — including an unlikely contribution from Julian Strawther. Strawther, the second-year guard, had scored 17 points combined in the postseason before Thursday night. In this one, he contributed 15 huge points off the bench to spark a second-half run.
Jamal Murray (25 points) and Christian Braun (23) also had big games for Denver while MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32 points) didn’t receive much help from his Thunder teammates. Jalen Williams especially struggled, going just 3 of 16 from the field and finishing with only six points.
The Thunder had no trouble in the first round, sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies to advance. Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t even shoot all that well in the first round (40.2% from the floor and 25% from 3), but he still averaged a team-high 27.8 points per game. SGA is trying to lead the Thunder to their first conference finals trip since 2016.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, needed all seven games to get past the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. Jokić averaged a triple-double in the series (24.0 points, 11.6 rebounds and 10.1 assists), and Murray added 22.9 points per game. The
Nuggets are in the second round for the sixth time in the last seven years, and got here in 2025 after making a coaching change days before the end of the regular season. Interim coach David Adelman, who replaced Michael Malone, now has more postseason wins than regular-season wins.
Thunder vs. Nuggets scores, schedule
Game 1: Nuggets 121, Thunder 119
Game 2: Thunder 149, Nuggets 106
Game 3: Nuggets 113, Thunder 104 (OT)
Game 4: Thunder 92, Nuggets 87
Game 5: Thunder 112, Nuggets 105
Game 6: Nuggets 119, Thunder 107 (Series tied, 3-3)
Game 7: Sunday, May 18 | Thunder vs. Nuggets | 3:30 ET, ABC/fubo
Thunder vs. Nuggets odds
Odds via DraftKings
Game 7 odds: Thunder -8, O/U: 213.5
Series odds: Thunder -325, Nuggets +260
CBS Sports will provide key updates below throughout the Thunder vs. Nuggets second-round series.
