32 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists, a record of 40 years was reached by SGA 4 times

On May 16, 2025, the NBA playoffs continued, with the Thunder 107-119. At the beginning of the game, the two teams fell into a fierce battle, and the score was always tight. The Nuggets led the team to a 9-0 attack wave with Jokic's pass, while the Thunder struggled to catch up with the continuous three-pointers. The Thunder adjusted their defensive strategy in the second quarter, and scored an 11-2 offensive to overtake, and once achieved a double-digit lead, but the Nuggets adjusted in time and responded to the climax of 12-0. At the end of the half, the Thunder led by only 3 points. After the change of sides, the Nuggets substitute Strauser became the surprise, scoring 8 points in a row to help the team score a 10-0 attack wave to gain a double-digit advantage. The Nuggets played steadily in the last quarter, widening the gap to 16 points. Although the Thunder struggled to catch up, they were fruitless. In the end, the Nuggets successfully tied the total score of the series at home, and the two sides will return to Denver to have a tiebreak battle. The key to the victory or defeat of this game lies in the Nuggets' experience advantages and the Thunder's youthful shortcomings. As the defending champion, the Nuggets showed excellent psychological qualities at critical moments, especially Murray still contributed 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists when he played while sick, and Jokic scored 29 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists in a comprehensive data. Although the Thunder ranked first in the Western Conference in the regular season, the problem of insufficient experience in the playoffs was fully exposed in this key G6 game, especially Jaylen Williams made only 3 of 16 shots in the game and lost all three-pointers and four shots, which seriously dragged down the team's offense. Judging from the data comparison, the Nuggets have a clear advantage in three-point shooting percentage (37.5% vs. 27.5%) and free throw shooting percentage (84.4% vs. 62.5%), and rebounding leads the Thunder 52-40. In terms of tactical execution, the Nuggets' targeted defense against Alexander achieved results in the second half, limiting the Thunder's offensive organization. At the same time, SGA once again showed its super star style in the game, scoring 32 points and 6 assists in the game, becoming the biggest highlight of the Thunder.

SGA demonstrated the responsibility and ability of a superstar in this game. In the first quarter, he established an offensive rhythm for the Thunder through accurate mid-range shooting and breakthroughs. Although he didn't score many points, he organized the entire team to attack. He broke out completely in the second quarter, scoring 9 points in a row to lead the team to a double-digit lead. His breakthrough was sharp, his mid-range shooting was as accurate as a textbook, and he also had a good shooting percentage outside the three-point line. At the end of the half, he had scored 20 points, making him the biggest contributor to the Thunder's lead.

In the second half, the Nuggets strengthened their defensive strength against SGA and implemented a more stringent double-team tactic on him. Faced with this situation, SGA did not panic, but created opportunities for his teammates through passing, demonstrating his comprehensiveness as a organizer. In the fourth quarter, when the Thunder fell behind double digits, SGA stepped forward again, scoring continuously to try to lead the team to counterattack, but unfortunately, his teammates felt cold and failed to complete the reversal. In the whole game, SGA made 11 goals in 16 shots, made 2 of 4 shots from outside the three-point line, and made 8 of 11 free throws, efficiently scoring 32 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists, demonstrating his responsibility and ability as the team leader.

According to statistics from the NBA official website, after this game, SGA's average score per game this season has reached 28.6 points, setting a new high in the playoffs in the Thunder's history! This data surpassed Durant's 28.1-point record set in the 2012-13 season, demonstrating SGA's dominance as a new generation of superstars. What's even more amazing is that SGA's shooting percentage in this game is as high as 68.8%, which is the third highest single-game shooting percentage among point guards with 30+ points in NBA playoff history, second only to Iverson and Curry's records.

In addition, SGA has scored 30+ in a single game in six playoffs this season, which ties with the Thunder’s record of 30+ in a single season in the playoffs, tied for first place with Durant. If he scored 30+ again in the tiebreak battle, he will set a new record in the Thunder team's history alone! It is worth mentioning that SGA's performance in the regular season and playoffs this season has made him among the top stars in the league. His progress is amazing and he is expected to challenge the MVP trophy in the future.

The outside world has mixed opinions on Thunder. On the one hand, as one of the league’s youngest teams, the Thunder were able to rank first in the regular season in the West and play so close to defending champion Nuggets in the playoffs, which has exceeded pre-season expectations. SGA's superstar performance, Homgren's overall improvement, and the team's basketball team are all commendable. But on the other hand, the Thunder's structural shortcomings in the lineup were also exposed in this game.

First of all, the Thunder lacks a true inside frame guard. Although Haltenstein is good at offensively, he seems to be unable to meet Jokic when facing him on the defensive end. Secondly, the Thunder's outside shooting was not stable enough. In this game, they made only 11 of 40 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of only 27.5%, which is a data that is difficult to win in the modern NBA. Finally, the Thunder lacks experience in the playoffs and still needs to improve their decisions and execution at critical moments.

Looking forward to the tiebreak battle, the Thunder need to face more dangerous challenges away games. The Nuggets' plateau environment at home is a huge test for physical fitness, and the Nuggets' playoff experience and psychological quality have an advantage. If the Thunder want to win, in addition to the SGA continuing to perform efficiently, they also need Jaylen Williams to regain their feel, Homgren competes with Jokic in the interior, and provide more firepower support on the bench. This tiebreak battle will be the ultimate test of the psychological quality of young Thunder players!

SGA has proved his value as a superstar with his performance this season, and his comprehensive offensive ability and leadership have made him among the top players in the league. From a historical perspective, if he can lead the Thunder to win a tiebreak away, it will greatly enhance his historical evaluation and is even expected to challenge the league's first player in the next few years! Although the Thunder are young and energetic, the hidden dangers of insufficient playoff experience are fully exposed in key games, which is also a problem they need to solve in the future.. As the defending champion, the Nuggets' victory in this game showed their resilience and experience, but also exposed the problem of insufficient depth on the bench. If it weren't for Strauser's unexpected outbreak, the results might be very different.

Faced with the upcoming tiebreak battle, the most concerned question for fans is: Can the young Thunder defeat the experienced Nuggets away, and can SGA set another historical record and lead the team to the Western Conference Finals?