Thunder vs. Nuggets schedule, odds, game times, NBA playoff updates: Where to watch Game 6, stream series (2025)

Best bet for Thursday's Game 6

The Nuggets are trying to fight off elimination, so ahead of their game against the top-seeded Thunder in Denver, Sam Quinn has the updated odds and player prop for tonight's action.

🚨 Game 5 final: Thunder 112, Nuggets 105

The Thunder pulled out a heart-stopping victory over the Nuggets in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in what has been an electric second-round series. Denver led by nine early in the fourth quarter but went on a 4-for-18 cold streak down the stretch while Oklahoma City hit its final six shots.

First game a Jalen Williams corner 3 to break 103-103 tie.

Then on the ensuing possession it was your likely MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with the dagger.

Oklahoma City had to pull out every trick to overcome Nikola Jokić, who went for 44 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and two steals. With the Nuggets down three and under two minutes to play, he tossed in this madness:

But Jokić just didn't get enough help, particularly down the stretch. Jamal Murray had 28 but it required 27 shots. Aaron Gordon had 13. Christian Braun had eight. Four other players scored four or fewer as all non-Jokic Denver players were 22 for 69 (31.8%) from the field

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City got a lot more scoring balance. SGA led the way with 31, followed by Jalen Williams with 18, Isaiah Hartenstein with 15, Chet Holmgren with 14, Alex Caruso with 13 and Lu Dort with 12.

The series now heads back to Denver for Game 6 on Thursday.

Halftime: Nuggets 56, Thunder 54

The Denver Nuggets have their first halftime lead of the series and it came after a rather slow start. The Thunder jumped out to a 12-2 lead after five minutes, but Denver was able to respond and take a 28-27 lead after the first quarter.

The Nuggets built a lead as large as 10, 53-43, with 3:08 left in the half, but the Thunder closed the half strong to get within two at the break.

Nikola Jokić, after a few games below his incredibly high standard of play, leads all scorers with 19 points along with nine rebounds and three assists. Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon are also in double-digits for Denver with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

On the Oklahoma City side, MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has 11 but on just 4-of-11 shooting. Jalen Williams has 11 points of his own while Chet Holmgren added nine and Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso pitched in eight apiece.

Will the Nuggets be able to send the series back to Denver for a potential clinching Game 6? Or will the top-seeded Thunder take a 3-2 lead?

Game 4 Final: Thunder 92, Nuggets 87

In a game straight out of 2005, the Thunder held on for a narrow win over the Nuggets on the road in Game 4 of their second-round series, which is now all square at 2-2.

The two teams combined to miss more than 100 shots over the course of the afternoon. Oklahoma City shot 31 of 87 from the field, while Denver went 25 of 80.

The Thunder took control early and briefly built a 15-point lead. They probably should have been out of sight by halftime, but were only up by six. By the middle of the third quarter, the Nuggets had taken the lead for the first time all day. In fact, it seemed as though the Nuggets were going to pull away themselves early in the fourth quarter, but the Thunder showed impressive resolve to get back in the game. In keeping with the theme of the day, neither team could get much going down the stretch, but the Thunder found just enough offense to get the job done.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another rough shooting night, but made some big shots in the fourth quarter and finished with 25 points, six rebounds and six assists. The Thunder got some key contributions from their bench, with Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace combining for 32 points. That trio made eight of their 10 3-pointers.

Halftime: Thunder 42, Nuggets 36

You'd be forgiven for looking at the score and thinking it was the end of the first quarter, but it really is halftime. No one could buy a bucket in one of the worst halves of basketball we've seen in a long time.

The Nuggets are shooting 8 of 38 (21.1%) from the field and only trail by six. That's in part because they've gotten to the free throw line a bunch, but also because the Thunder haven't been able to buy a shot either. The road team is 16 of 47 (34%) from the field. Together, the two teams are a combined 6 of 44 from 3-point range.

The Thunder have been in control for much of the game, and briefly led by as many as 15, but have been unable to put the Nuggets away. That's sort of been the theme of the series, and it will be interesting to see if the Nuggets can stage another comeback in the second half.

Nuggets have historically bad first quarter... Thunder not much better

The Nuggets could not buy a shot in the first quarter. They went an astounding 2 of 22 from the field in the opening 10 minutes en route to just eight points, which was the lowest-scoring first quarter of Nikola Jokic's career. The Nuggets are the first time to fail to reach double digits in the first quarter of a playoff game since the Memphis Grizzlies in 2023, and just the eighth team to do so since the 1950s.

And yet, the Thunder are only up by nine because they shot 6 of 22 from the field.

Overall, the two teams were 1 of 25 (4%) from 3-point range in the first quarter. That was the worst 3-pt % in a playoff quarter in NBA history

Best bet for Sunday's Game 4

Game 3 final: Nuggets 113, Thunder 104 (OT)

The Denver Nuggets just won a game with Nikola Jokić shooting just 8 of 25 from the floor, and now hold a 2-1 series lead against the top-seeded Thunder. That's a massive deal for the Nuggets, a team that when Jokić goes to the bench their offense completely falls off a cliff. Usually when their three-time MVP struggles like that, Denver typically loses the game -- similar to what we saw in the beating OKC gave the Thunder in Game 2.

But Friday night was different. Michael Porter Jr. had his best performance of these playoffs with 21 points on 7 of 10 from the floor. Jamal Murray once again stepped up when Denver needed him to keep this game close and eventually go and win it for them, finishing with 27 points. Aaron Gordon had another clutch 3-pointer that sent this thing into overtime, and had a 22-point outing. It was exactly what the Nuggets need when their franchise big man struggles to get things going offensively.

For the Thunder, while it felt like they maintained control through most of the game, but down the stretch of the fourth quarter and into overtime the offense just stalled. Too many forced shots, too many unforced errors and it doesn't help that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just 18 points on 7 of 22 from the floor. Jalen Williams tried his best with a playoff career high 32 points, but that wasn't enough to overcome the balanced Nuggets attack.

Game 4 is set for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

And we're headed to overtime

Four quarters just weren't enough for the Nuggets and Thunder to determine a winner and we're headed to overtime in Denver. It was a back and forth battle down the stretch of the fourth quarter, with neither team building bigger than a 3-point lead, and thanks to a clutch Aaron Gordon 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, we'll need five extra minutes to determine who will take a 2-1 series lead in this game.

Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have both struggled offensively, but it's been guys like Jamal Murray, Jalen Williams and role players who stepped up to carry the load.

Halftime: Thunder 56, Nuggets 51

The Thunder may not have as massive of a lead as they did in Game 2 at this point, but they've been in total control on both sides of the ball. Oklahoma City is just straight-up bullying the Nuggets in the paint, with a 34-12 advantage through the first two frames. Chet Holmgren's fingerprints are all over this game with 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the way for OKC. It's been necessary production as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has struggled mightily so far with just five points on 2 of 8 from the field.

Gilgeous-Alexander isn't the only star struggling in this game. Nikola Jokić has just eight points on an uncharacteristically inefficient 22% from the floor. He also has five turnovers, but credit goes to the Thunder's defense that has completely disrupted anything Denver is trying to do.

The one bright spot in Denver's offense has been Michael Porter Jr., who has more points already in this game (15) than he did in the first two games of this series combined (10). He's been dealing with a left shoulder injury, but so far his production has been the only reason the Nuggets aren't getting blown out.

Best bets for Friday's Game 3

🚨Game 2 final: Thunder 149, Nuggets 106

OKC bounces back in a big way in Game 2

In a game that was never close, the Thunder responded to a stunning Game 1 loss with a thorough dismantling of the Nuggets in Game 2 to even the series. OKC put up a ridiculous 87 points in the first half, tied for the most in any half of basketball in NBA playoff history. Things will now shift to Denver for Friday's Game 3, where the Nuggets will almost certainly put up a better showing.

It was a typical Thunder attack on both sides in Game 2, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way offensively with 34 points and eight assists on 11-for-13 shooting (11 for 11 from the free-throw line), while the suffocating defense caused the Nuggets to shoot just 37.9% from the field -- pretty remarkable considering they actually shot well from the 3-point line (15 for 37). That means they went 18 for 50 (36%) on 2-point attempts.

OKC also forced 20turnovers, including six by Nikola Jokić, who fouled out late in the third quarter after scoring 17 points on just 6-for-16 shooting. He was minus-36 in his 32 minutes.

The main takeaway for the Thunder is their ability to step on the Nuggets' throat once they had them on the ropes. We've seen so many comebacks this postseason -- including by Denver in Game 1 -- which only proves how important it is to keep the foot on the gas pedal, even with a huge lead.

On the Denver side, this is what they call a "flush" game, where they will focus on all the good things they did in Game 1 and forget pretty much everything about Game 2. There's no reason to think that what happened on Wednesday will be the norm in this series, particularly with Jokić and Denver's role players due for a bounce-back effort.

Thunder make history with 87-point half

It's all OKC in this one. The Thunder have responded resoundingly to their Game 1 loss, hitting 58.8% of their shots in the first half for an 87-56 halftime lead. All Thunder starters have at least eight points, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the way with 18. And, most impressively, the Thunder made history. The 87 points tie the record for the most points in a half inNBA playoff history, per CBS Sports research.

Perhaps no lead is insurmountable in the second round of the 2025 NBA payoffs, but OKC is in a comfortable spot. It will be interesting to see how long the Nuggets keep their starters in as Denver is playing its fifth game in nine days.

End of 1st quarter: Thunder 45, Nuggets 21

Well, it looks like a home team might actually be on its way to a second-round win. The top-seeded Thunder have responded to their Game 1 loss against the Nuggets with a loud first quarter in OKC. They lead by 24 points after 12 minutes, shooting a blistering 71.4% from the floor in the first quarter and hitting five of their nine 3-point attempts. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads all scorers with 13 points, and they kept Nikola Jokić quiet (four points, two rebounds, two assists).

The Nuggets are playing their fifth game in nine days dating back to their seven-game first round matchup with the Clippers.

All OKC early

The Thunder have come out scorching hot in Game 2, hitting 7 of their first 10 shots en route to an 18-9 lead over the Nuggets. Isaiah Hartenstein has been killing Denver with his patented push shot from just inside the free throw line, and he leads all scorers with six points to go with two assists and two rebounds.

Game 1 final: Nuggets 121, Thunder 119

I hope you didn't turn this game off! Despite leading by double-digits in the fourth quarter, the Oklahoma City Thunder just could not put the Denver Nuggets away. Nikola Jokić led a massive fourth-quarter comeback that concluded with one of the wilder sequences of the playoffs thus far. Chet Holmgren went to the free-throw line up one with less than 10 seconds to play. He missed both, Christian Braun got the rebound, and with the final seconds ticking off of the clock, Aaron Gordon drilled a 3-pointer to give the Nuggets the 121-119 victory.

Obviously, this was the second game-winner of the playoffs for Gordon, who won Game 4 of Denver's first-round series at the buzzer with a dunk. Jokić, meanwhile, just had one of the best playoff games of his illustrious career to steal home-court advantage. He ended the night with 42 points, 22 rebounds and six assists to seal the victory.

The Thunder, meanwhile, squander not only a 33-point performance out of presumptive MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but a historic 20-point, six-steal, five-assist game out of Alex Caruso. Now Oklahoma City, who played 24 clutch games all regular season, has had its first taste of high-leverage playoff basketball this season. It went poorly. Will they be able to respond and tie the series on Wednesday? Or has Denver found a way to truly challenge the best team in the West?

Alex Caruso making NBA history

Alex Caruso has only played 20 minutes tonight, and given his typical work load, he might be done. If he is, it's worth noting that he just did something in a reserve role that no NBA player has ever done even as a starter. Tonight, he just became the first player ever to post five steals, five assists, five made 3s and two blocks in a playoff game, according to Micah Adams. He's been the difference in an otherwise close game. The Thunder have won his minutes by 22 points.

Oklahoma City's first real test is coming

The Thunder have the lead after three quarters, 90-85, but this is a really interesting position for Oklahoma City here. This season has, frankly, been easy for them. They had the second best net rating in NBA history. They only played 24 clutch games this season, the fewest in the NBA by far. They're not used to play close games with real stakes. The Nuggets, obviously, have played plenty. They just won one on Saturday. So this is probably the first significant test the Thunder have faced all season. Can they close out a former MVP to take the 1-0 series lead?

HALFTIME: Thunder 60, Nuggets 50

Well, the Nuggets played a Game 7 on Saturday and it's showing. The Thunder have basically played only four meaningful games for the past month or so, and that rest advantage is showing here in Game 1. Oklahoma City's league-best defense is flying around the court, generating turnovers and blowing up almost every action Denver tries. The result has been a first half that has greatly favored the Thunder, 60-50.

The first quarter belonged, predictably, to presumptive MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He scored 14 first-quarter points in a bit of a Canadien showdown with Jamal Murray, who scored 12 in that opening frame. But when the second quarter arrived, the defense took over. Alex Caruso has three steals at the half, and the Thunder have won his 10 minutes by 17 points. Denver, especially when Nikola Jokić went to the bench, just had no answers for him whatsoever.

Jokić, at least, is doing his part. He already has a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds at the half. Murray has 14 points as well, but once again, the supporting cast is going to have to pick up its own scoring. As a whole, the Nuggets are shooting a miserable 2-of-15 from 3-point range. They beat the Clippers in part because they made shots they often miss. If they regress in this series, it will end quickly.

Oh Canada, you're dominating this game

Nikola Jokić may be the best player in the series, but the first quarter of Game 1 belongs to the Canadiens. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the game with 14 points. Jamal Murray leads the Nuggets with 12 of his own. Murray struggled mightily for Team Canada at the Olympics, but has slowly started to round back into playoff form over the past year. He may not have been a suitable co-star for Gilgeous-Alexander in Paris, but he's looking every bit a worthy foe in this series as the Thunder hold a slim 27-26 lead through 12 minutes.

Russell Westbrook gets standing ovation in Game 1

Russell Westbrook hasn't played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in six years. He's even faced them in the playoffs already back in 2020, but that was in the Orlando bubble. Tonight is the first time that the 2017 MVP and beloved former member of the Thunder returns to Oklahoma City for a playoff game, and even though they'll be enemies for the next two weeks or so, the fans in Oklahoma were sure to welcome him to the series with a standing ovation on Monday.