After a heartbreaking Game 1 that saw OKC squander a 13-point lead in the fourth and lost via an Aaron Gordon game-winning triple, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander insisted the shock defeat was just a “bump on the road" for the Thunder.
[ALSO READ: Clutch Aaron Gordon helps Nuggets snatch West semis opener vs Thunder]
“We're going to find out what we're really made of,” SGA added.
OKC, as it turned out, looked just fine.
After a slow start in the series opener, the Thunder wasted no time to deliver an early statement against the Nuggets in Game 2.
Six minutes into the first quarter, they were up by 11 points. At the end of the first quarter, they were up by 24 points.
By halftime, OKC built a huge 87-56 lead to set an NBA-playoff record for the most points scored in any half.
OKC JUST DROPPED 87 IN THE 1ST HALF 🤯
— NBA (@NBA) May 8, 2025
The MOST points in a half in the postseason in the play-by-play era (1997-98) 🚨
SGA needed just 13 shots to drop 34 points, pacing a resounding 149-106 Thunder response to even their West semifinal series at 1-1.
[ALSO READ: Vengeful Thunder ride record-setting first half to pull even vs. Nuggets in Game 2]
“We knew what was at stake tonight. We came out desperate. We wanted to just take care and control the things that we knew we could,” the MVP frontrunner told reporters in the post-game press conference.
He added: “We did a pretty good job of that, specifically to start the game. The start carried us through the rest of the night.”
SGA led eight Thunder players who scored in double-digits with his fourth consecutive 30-point game of this year’s postseason.
He connected 11 of his 13 shots, made all of his 11 free throw attempts and ended up with eights assists and four rebounds.
“He SGA] had the ball ahead of them all night, so he got his teammates shots too. It wasn’t just a one-man show. He was super efficient. I mean, he had an unbelievable blend tonight,” OKC head coach Mark Daigneault said of his superstar’s performance.
The Thunder were clicking on all cylinders in the first two quarters, shooting a red-hot 58.8% (30-for-51) from the field (30-for-51), made 10 threes, and missed just one of their 18 free attempts.
OKC also stifled Denver primarily three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who scored just 18 points and fouled out early in the third frame.
“I didn’t look at tonight as a response as much as I looked at tonight as just us being who we are and that’s how we’ve been all season,” Daigneault admitted.
"I didn't really look at tonight as a response as much as I looked at tonight as just us being who we are."
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 8, 2025
Mark Daigneault on OKC's convincing Game 2 win 💯
The victory also restored some normalcy in the ongoing semifinal round of this year’s playoffs after the Thunder became the first team to secure a home win after six straight road wins.
"At the end of the day, every game’s different, every team’s different. Tonight was an unwritten game and we went out there and competed together,” Daigneault said.
Games 3 and 4 of the series now shifts to Denver where the Thunder won their regular season opening match via a 127-103 blowout.
