OKC Flips the Script in Game 5
For three quarters, it looked like the defending champions had regained control. Denver moved the ball well, Nikola Jokic was dominant, and Oklahoma City struggled to find rhythm.
But in the final 12 minutes, the Thunder flipped the script — again.
Trailing by nine early in the fourth, Oklahoma City exploded for a 34–19 run to win 112–105 at Paycom Center and seize a 3–2 series lead over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals.
“We had no choice,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “It wasn’t going our way. But we always say: the answer is never a hero play. It’s playing as one.”
Lu Dort’s Unexpected Spark
The comeback began with an unlikely source.
Lu Dort, who had missed all three of his prior three-point attempts and was benched late in Game 4, drilled three straight threes to ignite the Thunder and slice Denver’s lead to two.
“I just have to keep believing,” Dort said. “My teammates have my back.”
Coach Mark Daigneault’s trust in Dort proved crucial. Nuggets interim coach David Adelman admitted it changed the game.
“Give Lu Dort a lot of credit,” said Adelman. “We had a chance to extend the lead, and he made huge shots.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Closes It Out
Oklahoma City took the lead for the first time since the opening quarter on a Gilgeous-Alexander drive with 3:33 to go. Then, with under a minute remaining, SGA buried a dagger triple to stretch the lead to six.
He finished with 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists — a steady, composed performance that mirrored the Thunder’s poise.
“He let the game tell him what to do,” said Daigneault. “He was humble in the moment.”
Denver Falls Apart Down the Stretch
Jokic scored 13 of Denver’s 19 fourth-quarter points. The rest of the team? A disastrous 1-of-15 from the field and 0-of-10 from three.
The Nuggets, so often dominant late in games, found no answers for Oklahoma City’s energy, switching, and aggression.
A Series Momentum Shift
Oklahoma City has now outscored Denver by 26 points in the fourth quarters of Games 4 and 5. Once trailing in the series, the Thunder now head to Game 6 with a 3–2 edge and the confidence of a team growing into a contender.
“We’re a better team today than we were at the beginning of the series,” Daigneault said. “We’re definitely evolving.”
SGA acknowledged the challenge of facing Jokic, but in Game 5, the Thunder were the smarter, tougher, and more clutch team.
Now, they have two chances to finish the job. Game 6 returns to Denver. The Nuggets are in survival mode. And Oklahoma City? They’re knocking on the door of a breakthrough.
