The Denver Nuggets are heading into a do-or-die Game 5 tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their Western Conference semifinal series, with the score tied 2-2 after a heartbreaking collapse in Game 4 on Sunday, May 11, 2025. The Nuggets had a golden chance to take a 3-1 lead at home, but a brutal fourth quarter saw them fall 92-87 in a low-scoring slugfest—the lowest combined total in the 2025 playoffs at 179 points, as noted in recent coverage. Now, they’re on the road at Paycom Center, facing a Thunder team that’s been a juggernaut all season, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
One of the big storylines in this series has been Russell Westbrook’s struggles, especially from beyond the arc. The Thunder have been leaving him wide open from three, daring him to shoot, and for the most part, those shots just aren’t falling. In the last two games, Westbrook—who was a spark plug against his former team, the Clippers, in the first round by hitting open looks in the short corner—hasn’t been able to capitalize against OKC. That’s a problem for the Nuggets, who need every ounce of offensive firepower they can get. Westbrook’s intensity has always been a double-edged sword. He’s known for wearing his emotions on his sleeve, which can rally the team and the crowd on good nights, but it can also create tension when things go south. After the Nuggets’ Game 2 loss to the Clippers in the first round, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported a heated locker room exchange between Westbrook and Aaron Gordon, where Gordon called him out on his attitude. “He’s so immature,” a teammate reportedly said, highlighting the volatility Westbrook brings to the table.
That volatility might be rearing its head at the worst possible time. The Nuggets desperately need to get off to a better start offensively tonight—they managed just eight points in the first quarter of Game 4, a hole they couldn’t climb out of. Nikola Jokic, the team’s superstar, also needs to find his rhythm after two rough shooting performances in front of the home crowd at Ball Arena. Jokic has been a force all series—think back to his 42-point, 22-rebound explosion in Game 1—but the Thunder’s defense, which led the league in defensive rating during the regular season, has made life tough for him lately. Denver’s got to get Jokic going early if they want a shot at stealing this game on the road.
This series has been a rollercoaster. The Nuggets stole Game 1 in OKC with a late Aaron Gordon three, only to get blown out by 43 points in Game 2, as the Thunder dropped a playoff-record 87 points in the first half. Denver fought back with a gritty 113-104 overtime win in Game 3, but couldn’t close the deal in Game 4 despite the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander having a rare off night (18 points on 7-of-22 shooting). Now, with the series tied, tonight’s game at 9:30 PM ET feels like a make-or-break moment. The winner of this series could become the favorite to take the NBA title, especially with Jayson Tatum sidelined by injury and the Cleveland Cavaliers teetering on the edge of elimination in the East.
The Nuggets are underdogs tonight—oddsmakers have the Thunder as 10.5-point favorites with a -505 money line, while Denver sits at +379, and the over/under is set at 220.5 points. But this team has been here before—they won the title in 2023, and with players like Jokic, Gordon, and Jamal Murray, who always seems to find another gear in the playoffs, they’ve got the experience to pull off an upset. The question is whether they can shake off Sunday’s loss, get their offense firing early, and handle the Thunder’s elite defense in a hostile environment. For Nuggets fans, it’s a nail-biter, but there’s still a path to the Western Conference Finals—they just have to take it one game at a time, starting tonight.
