OKC Thunder's Resilience to Be Tested Friday Night

Oklahoma City's ability to blow a team out of the water is impressive in its own right, but the team will need to be resilient in down-the-stretch scenarios deeper into the postseason, and possibly on Friday evening.

May 7, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) shoots over Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) in the second quarter during game two of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City set an NBA record in the regular season. A 12.9 point differential, the Thunder beat down teams in the regular season better than any team in NBA history, a testament to this team's talent and a rigorous mindset to never let up at any point in the game.

Because of this, the Thunder were not really challenged in late-game situations this season. Sure, there were instances, but Oklahoma City was more than likely winning by double digits depending on its opponent.

Against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, Oklahoma City finally tasted a little bit of that in Games 3 and 4, having to overcome a historic postseason deficit in Game 2 and warding off the Grizzlies to send them home in Game 4. The Thunder showed its preparedness in those situations, and while it wasn't the prettiest series overall, the team got the job done in the clutch—albeit facing a Memphis team without Ja Morant or Jaylen Wells.

Into Round 2, Oklahoma City faced a similar situation in Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets.

Up by one with the score at 119-118 with under 10 seconds left, Chet Holmgren went to the line. He'd miss the first one—and then he'd missed the second one.

This led to a breakout in transition as Christian Braun outletted it to Russell Westbrook who then drove hard into the middle of the floor before hitting Aaron Gordon on the wing, where Gordon would pull the trigger from distance to sink it and send Thunder fans home sad as they would win 121-119.

Oklahoma City could not execute down the stretch against a tough team like the Nuggets in this scenario. At home, it's a distasteful outcome—but there could certainly be more games in store like this deeper into the postseason, and also on Friday night in Game 3.

After the Thunder blew the Nuggets out of the water in Game 2, 149-106, both teams are hungry to get the edge on Friday night.

In Denver, Oklahoma City will look to sneak one on the road as the Nuggets will look to grab a victory behind its amped up home crowd.