Subscribe
Follow Us
For much of Game 1 of their second-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets, the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that's won 72 games thus far this season, were in control. Even in the dying embers of the game, the Thunder were in command, as they held a 119-116 lead with 11 seconds to go after a brilliant after timeout play from head coach Mark Daigneault that freed up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a dunk.
But that's when the wheels began to fall off for the Thunder. The Nuggets, understandably protecting Nikola Jokic from picking up his sixth foul, had him on the bench on that possession and had no way of bringing him back unless there was a dead ball. But then the Thunder decided to foul while up by three, and Aaron Gordon, the eventual hero of the game, made his two free throws to trim the deficit to one.
Fouling while up by three only works if the team that has the lead also makes their free throws. But that's what the Thunder failed to do, with Chet Holmgren, a career 78 percent free-throw shooter, missed both of his attempts, setting up Gordon's eventual game-winning triple in a 121-119 loss for OKC. Daigneault defended his decision to foul while up by three by saying that that wasn't what lost them the game.
“That's usually our deal, is to foul up by three. And to play that game. I think we executed the fouls pretty well. Got the ball inbounds pretty well. Didn't go our way tonight but it's worked out well for us in the past. We continue to look at it, learn from it. But I didn't think that's why we lost the game,” Daigneault said in his postgame presser, via Addam M. Francisco of the Suave Report.
Mark Daigneault on the ending and his decision to foul up three: pic.twitter.com/pZbxVijN9s
— Addam M. Francisco (@SuaveCEO_) May 6, 2025
Perhaps the brunt of the blame should fall on Holmgren's shoulders. Nonetheless, in the playoffs, even the tiniest of margins can make the biggest difference, and the Thunder will certainly feel hard done by the fact that they lost a game they led for nearly its entirety.
Article Continues Below
Is the Thunder's inexperience showing?
This Thunder squad has already been hardened by their loss to the Dallas Mavericks in last year's playoffs, and they clearly have all the tools in their disposal to win a championship. They did not luck into 72 total wins (thus far) this season.
But the Thunder's late-game execution left much to be desired. They were up by 11 with a little over four minutes to go in the ballgame, and all they could muster from that point forward were two field-goals, allowing the Nuggets to claw their way back gradually.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets have won a championship in the past and they can remain poised even through the most difficult adversity. And in Game 1, the experience gap may have reared its ugly head for OKC.
