G6 loses badly, where is the Thunder losing in this game? Three major defeats are exposed, the biggest "sinner" is revealed

In the G6 field of the NBA Western Conference Semi-Finals on May 16, 2025, the Nuggets and the Thunder had a thrilling battle. In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Thunder 119-107 and tied the series to 3-3. Both sides had to decide who could advance to the Western Conference Finals through a cruel tiebreak battle. In this game, the reason for the Thunder’s defeat is worthy of in-depth analysis.

Failure 1: Judging from the Thunder's own performance, the decline in efficiency of core players in the final quarter has become one of the key factors in losing. Alexander scored 32 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists in the game. The data seemed good, but he only scored 8 points in the final quarter. In the critical round, facing Jokic and Murray's double-team, he made many shots and made a breakthrough difficult to work. In the last 5 minutes of the last quarter, he made only 1 of 4 shots, causing the Thunder to miss out on their excellent opportunity to narrow the gap many times. Jaylen Williams was also in poor form, making only 3 of 16 shots in the game, 0 of 4 three-pointers, and only scored 6 points. Especially in the final quarter, he missed a key three-pointer, and his multiple breakthroughs were blocked by the Nuggets, greatly weakening the team's offensive firepower.

Failed 2: The failure of the defensive strategy made the Thunder pay a heavy price. They failed to successfully limit the Nuggets' core players. Jokic scored 29 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists in the game. The Thunder's double-teaming strategy not only did not limit his score, but instead made him do better in supporting and revitalizing the Nuggets' offense. Murray also scored 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. He made consecutive breakthroughs in the last quarter. The Thunder's loopholes when changing defense were keenly captured and exploited.

Failure 3: The key ball handling error is also a big defeat for the Thunder. In the final quarter, the Thunder made many low-level mistakes, Jewe's dribble missed and Alexander's pass mistakes. These mistakes directly turned into the Nuggets' counterattack opportunity, hindering the Thunder's goal-chasing plan again and again.

In this game, Jaylen Williams may be unable to escape the accusation if he wants to choose the Thunder's biggest sinner. His sluggish performance throughout the game made the Thunder lose a stable scoring point on the offensive end. He played for 37 minutes, made only 3 of 16 shots, 0 of 4 of three-pointers, and made 3 mistakes, scoring only 6 points. When Alexander was double-teamed, he couldn't stand up and provide strong scoring support. On the defensive end, he had obvious loopholes in assisting defense against Nuggets wing players, with a plus-negative value of -8, making him one of the worst performers on the Thunder bench.

In contrast, the key to winning is Jokic's dominance. He scored 29 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists in the whole game, and scored 11 points in the final quarter. Whether it is offense or defense, he is the core of the Nuggets. Murray's recovery is also crucial. He scored 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in the game. His consecutive scores in the final quarter helped the team secure the victory. In addition, the Nuggets' team collaboration is also excellent, with five players scoring in double digits, and the starting five players scored 92 points, showing strong finishing ability.

Now, the two sides will start a tiebreak battle on May 19. If Thunder wants to win and advance, it must solve many problems. They need to improve the efficiency of substitutes to help Caruso and Dort regain the feel of the G5; they need to readjust their defensive strategies to better limit Jokic; Alexander and Jewe must remain calm in the final quarter, reduce mistakes, and improve the execution of key balls. The Nuggets need to pay attention to Jokic's physical fitness. He played for 41 minutes in this game and consumed a lot of physical fitness. At the same time, Murray must maintain stability, and players such as Porter Jr. must also find a feel on the outside to provide more firepower support for the team. The tiebreak battle is destined to be exciting, let's wait and see.