The NBA playoffs are often a game of inches, and for the Denver Nuggets, it was Julian Strawther who made all the difference in their Game 6 victory in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Down 3-2 in their best-of-seven series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Nuggets had their backs against the wall heading into Game 6 at home. The Nuggets responded with an early 10-point lead in the first quarter, but the Thunder battled back and took a 12-point lead of their own in the second period.
Come the third quarter, these two teams were neck and neck as they traded shots to begin the second half. With less than two minutes remaining in the third period, the game was tied at 80-all and it felt like the match was destined to go down the wire in the final quarter.
However, Strawther, along with Jamal Murray, had different plans and turned the game on its head. Murray found Strawther for his first basket of the game at the 1:37 mark of the third period–a high-arching three-pointer that splashed through the net.
Murray followed it up with a nifty reverse lay-up then found Strawther yet again on Denver’s next possession for another three-pointer. At this point, the Nuggets’ lead was suddenly back up to eight points, though Strawther was not done yet.
On Denver’s last possession of the third quarter, Strawther caught Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ball-watching and made him pay. Strawther cut behind Gilgeous-Alexander and towards the basket where Murray found him for an impressive alley-oop turnaround lay-up. This capped off a 10-0 Nuggets run, with the seldom-used Strawther contributing eight of their 10 points.
The second-year guard scored seven more points in the final quarter and finished the night with 15 points on four-of-eight shooting, three three-pointers, and two rebounds. With this performance, Strawther more than doubled his entire point total in this series as he had only scored a grand total of 14 points across the previous five games. Strawther was also the only player among the Nuggets’ three reserves to post a positive +/-, highlighting his impact on the game.
Strawther came into the game brimming with confidence and it paid off handsomely for Denver when they needed it the most. The Nuggets wound up entering the third period with an eight-point lead and this turned out to be just enough of a cushion for them to survive Oklahoma City’s fourth quarter comeback attempts.
Now, with Game 7 looming on the Thunder’s home floor, the Nuggets may need another big performance from their unexpected hero. Strawther’s breakout wasn’t just a fluke—it was the result of years of preparation and staying ready. On a veteran-heavy roster like Denver’s, young players such as Strawther can often be overlooked. But as Game 6 showed, sometimes it’s the unexpected heroes who swing a series.
