Gilgeous-Alexander scores 34 as
Thunder roll past Nuggets 149-106, tie West semis at 1-1
[May 08, 2025]
By CLIFF BRUNT
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points in
three quarters, and the Oklahoma City Thunder set league and team
records in a 149-106 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night
that tied the Western Conference semifinal series at one game
apiece.
Oklahoma City set an NBA playoff record for first-half points with
87, surpassing the 86 scored by the Cleveland Cavaliers against the
Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 9, 2017.
Chet Holmgren, who missed two critical free throws late in Game 1,
made a pair with one second remaining in the second quarter to set
the record and give the Thunder an 87-56 lead.
The Thunder tied the record for points in any half of a playoff
game. Milwaukee had 87 in the second half against Denver on April
23, 1978.
“Basically it was one team playing tonight,” Denver center Nikola
Jokic said.
The top-seeded Thunder wanted to avoid taking a 2-0 deficit on the
road. Oklahoma City became the first home team to win a game in the
second round. Game 3 is Friday in Denver.
“We knew what was at stake tonight," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We
came out desperate. We wanted to just take care and control the
things that we knew we could. And we did a pretty good job of that,
specifically to start the game. The start carried us through the
rest of the night.”
Gilgeous-Alexander made 11 of 13 field goals, all 11 of his free
throws and had eight assists. He led eight players who scored in
double figures.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander did much more
than score.
“He made them pay when they overhelped on him," Daigneault said. "He
had the ball ahead of them all night, so he got his teammates shots,
too. It wasn’t just a one-man show. He was super efficient. I mean,
he had an unbelievable blend tonight.”
Jokic, who had 42 points and 22 rebounds in a Game 1 win, had just
17 points and eight rebounds on Wednesday before fouling out late in
the third quarter.
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Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) leaps to the
basket for a shot over Denver Nuggets' Peyton Watson (8) in the
second half of Game 2 in the conference semifinals of the NBA
basketball playoffs, Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Oklahoma City. (AP
Photo/Kyle Phillips)
Russell Westbrook led the Nuggets with 19 points.
Oklahoma City's crowd cheered for the ex-Thunder star when he
entered Game 1 as a reserve, but the fans changed their approach and
booed him shortly after he entered Game 2. Westbrook got called for
a technical foul moments later, and Gilgeous-Alexander made the free
throw to make it 34-13.
The Thunder led 45-21 at the end of the first quarter after shooting
71.4% from the field and setting a team record for points in a
quarter in a playoff game.
“We got punked, and we didn’t play well enough and they came out
with the right intensity," Denver interim coach David Adelman said.
"We didn’t.”
Oklahoma City continued its dominance in the second quarter. A lob
from Gilgeous-Alexander to Jalen Williams for a two-handed jam gave
the Thunder a 78-43 lead.
Oklahoma City led 124-76 after three quarters. The largest lead was
49 points.
Adelman said he wouldn't minimize the loss, even though the Nuggets
head back to Denver with home-court advantage.
“I’m not sitting here tonight talking about the 1-1 thing tonight,"
he said. "Not tonight. We’re not going to flush that. We’ve got to
be better. We know that. That being said, it’s nice to know that you
got a win underneath your belt.”
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