Subscribe
Follow Us
OKLAHOMA CITY — With 9.1 seconds left and a one-point lead intact (119-118), Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams watched as his teammate Chet Holmgren missed two critical free throws, with the second miss landing into Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun's hands. He launched the ball up the floor to Russell Westbrook, who found Aaron Gordon in the corner for a three that found the bottom of the net. The Nuggets stole Game 1.
After a 121-119 loss, Williams addressed Holmgren's missed free throws during his postgame media availability.
“That's not why we win or lose the game,” Williams said. “If they don't make that three, we win the game. If I make two free throws early, what's the score of the game? There are so many factors that factor into a game. That's not why we lost the game. Obviously, it sucks. It's good for character development. He'll be better from it later down the road.”
With no timeouts and time running out, it was the kind of break the Nuggets needed as Gordon's three in transition stunned the Thunder to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-7 series. Oklahoma City had a 14-point lead.
“The average swing in an NBA game is 13 points,” Williams said. “So, you go up 13. You go down [by] 13. That's just our norm for the playoffs is still around there. That's just how basketball is. We understand that. It just didn't happen to go our way tonight.”
With Jalen Williams and the Thunder in the penalty midway through the final frame, the Nuggets drained plenty of free throws to keep themselves close, connecting on 13-of-16 free throws in the final 6:08. It led to Denver wiping out a double-digit deficit. Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic led with 42 points, 22 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. Gordon finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Mark Daigneault accepts blame for Thunder's controversial fouls
Article Continues Below
Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault called for intentional fouls against the Nuggets to avoid giving up a three. After Chet Holmgren missed a pair of free throws, the plan backfired.
After the loss, Daigneault accepted blame for his team's late-game execution.
“I did think the backcourt fouls hurt us. And again, we can learn from that — the fouling up three — that's on me,” Daigneault said. “I think giving a foul and getting the foul executed is critical. If there's something to be learned from that, it's probably giving it too early on my part. That's not on the players. They're executing what I tell them to do.”
Mark Daigneault takes blame for Thunder’s intentional fouls:
“Fouling up three — that’s on me. The foul executed is critical. If there’s something to learn from that it’s probably giving the foul too early… that’s not on the players. They’re executing what I tell them to do” pic.twitter.com/1XFVgMVzTh
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) May 6, 2025
The Thunder will host the Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday.
