Stiles Points: OKC Thunder Learning the Hard Way How Slim Margin of Error Is

The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Denver Nuggets in a battle of two championship caliber teams in the second round. OKC learning just how slim the margin of error is in the playoffs.

May 15, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) controls the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) guards in the second quarter during game six of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

This game turned on a dime, as is the case in Basketball –– a game of runs –– Denver went on a heater after the Oklahoma City Thunder extended its lead to 12, its largest of the night, thanks to a fourth foul picked up by superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

It was one you can not afford to give up if you are the soon-to-be-named MVP. 70 some odd feet from the basket, getting tangled with a seven-foot giant after a turnover rather than pulling back to live to see another play. Earlier in the first half, Gilgeous-Alexander gave away another foul to Jokic, holding his arm on a layup rather than just conceding the bucket. That is how slim the margin of error is in the playoffs.

"That's a high-level game on the road right there. They came ready to play, and they came out swinging, throwing punches. I feel like we did a good job of handling that first punch and then responding... but we have to figure out how to sustain that better throughout the game," Rising Star Chet Holmgren said following Game 6.

No one knows how the Thunder would've closed the second frame with their superstar out of foul trouble. All we know is, Oklahoma City was outclassed at the end of the second period, the closing minutes of the third frame and the entire fourth quarter. Those ends to the four 12-minute segments prove to be the difference most nights. The margin of error is slim.

Oklahoma City clanked open looks, blew chances at the rim and left six points at the free throw line in this 119-107 loss. Not good enough for a close-out win in Game 6 in the Mile High City.

The Thunder did not play near their level of defense, a side of the floor that not only built a historic 68-win season but a 3-2 series lead that is now wiped away.

"We didn't close the first half great. But when halftime comes, you get 24 minutes to go play the best regardless of what just happened. We had that opportunity," Head Coach Mark Daigneault said postgame. "They just outplayed us in the second half. They were sharper, executed better, made more plays. So credit them."

Denver, with their season on the line, not only saw its stars produce. Jokic was an incredible 29 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block in this contest on 64% shooting from the floor. His co-star, Jamal Murray, battling an illness, turned in 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and a block, making 47% of his shots against the best defense in the sport.

The others? Yeah, they showed up, too. Christian Braun tossed in 23 points alongside the Nuggets' starting five, including 3-for-6 from downtown. Off the bench, David Adelman turned to Julian Strawther to shake up his usually shallow rotation and was rewarded for it with 15 points on a jaw-dropping 3-for-4 shooting from distance.

On the flip side, the Thunder's no. 2 option, Jalen Williams, only mustered six points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, three steals, and a block in a game in which he shot a lowly 18% from the floor, including 0-for-4 from 3-point land. Williams was able to get to his spots pretty comfortably in this game, but the ball hardly found its way through the ring, sometimes due to his own missteps at the rim.

Oklahoma City shot just 27% from beyond the arc as a team, seeing Aaron Wiggins march to an 0-for-4 night to couple with Isaiah Joe's 0-for-2 and Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort's 2-for-7 outings.

The Thunder did not create its usual gap in the turnover battle, were beaten and battered on the boards for stretches of this game, finishing a -12, allowed an alarming 23 second-chance points to the just six OKC could manage to find.

The margins of error are slim in the playoffs. A 12-point lead isn't safe; any waning throughout the 48 minutes is enough to get you beat. Energy, effort, intensity and shot making are at a premium. OKC had almost none of it.

This Thunder team has been a resilient bunch, an anomaly for such a young team. They have been able to find success with on-the-job learning and will have to continue that approach in Game 7 on Sunday. Because if Oklahoma City plays this way again, its historic 68 win season comes crumbling down.

There should be no panic, and there isn't, with these Bricktown Ballers. This is not only why you put the work in during the regular season to have home court advantage, but why you storm back in Game 5 to give yourself two games to close out this series and make up for this Mile High heartbreak.

"It's do or die. It's what you live for. It's what you work your whole life towards," Gilgeous-Alexander said.

It all comes down to Sunday, as the Oklahoma City Thunder seeks to punch its ticket to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016. To do it? They have to go through an All-Time Great and a battle-tested supporting cast. Get your popcorn ready.

Song of the Day: Vienna by Billy Joel.

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