Outcoached, Outplayed: How the Thunder Let Game 1 Slip Through Their Fingers

It was supposed to be a statement win. The Oklahoma City Thunder had Game 1 of their second-round matchup against the defending champion Denver Nuggets in the bag—or so it seemed. Up by nine points with just under three minutes left, the youngest team in the playoffs had outpaced, out-executed, and seemingly outlasted a battle-hardened Denver squad… until they didn’t.

Denver 121, OKC 119. Final score.

And make no mistake—this wasn’t just a comeback. This was a collapse. A three-minute implosion that saw Denver outscore Oklahoma City 15-4 down the stretch, capped off by Aaron Gordon’s game-winning three with four seconds left. But while Gordon hit the shot, and while Nikola Jokić delivered yet another historic masterclass, the Thunder didn’t lose this game because they were out-talented. They lost because they were out-coached.

The Anatomy of a Meltdown

Let’s rewind. Midway through the first quarter, Denver jumped out to a 24-16 lead, looking every bit like the seasoned juggernaut they are. Then OKC hit back with a 19-2 run, flipping the game on its head. From there, it was largely Thunder basketball—transition bursts, defensive intensity, a home crowd in full throttle, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge. Heading into the final minutes, OKC held a 115-106 edge. The game was theirs to lose.

And they did just that.

In the final 2:40, here's what went down:

• 2:40: Jokić draws a foul and calmly sinks both free throws.

• 2:18: Russell Westbrook (yes, you read that right) earns a trip to the line, hits one of two.

• 1:44: Jokić bullies Caruso in the paint, soft-touch floater—money.

• 1:07: Jokić drains a top-of-the-arc three over Isaiah Hartenstein. Tie game.

• 0:13: Jokić gets fouled—again—sinks both free throws. Denver up two.

• 0:11: Gordon is fouled—two more freebies.

• 0:04: Gordon, ice cold, drills a corner three to seal it.

That’s 15 Denver points in the blink of an eye. Nine of them came from Jokić. The other six? Gordon, who played with a mix of veteran poise and timely aggression. But zoom out from the scoreboard, and this game was decided by something even more glaring: coaching malpractice.

Mark Daigneault’s Moment to Forget

Mark Daigneault has done a fantastic job this season. Sixty-eight wins, best record in the West, a modern system that blends pace, versatility, and youth. But none of that mattered in the final 14 seconds of Game 1.

Here’s what went down:

• With 11 seconds left and a three-point lead (119-116), Daigneault decided to intentionally foul Aaron Gordon—a 70% free throw shooter—despite the Nuggets being out of timeouts and Jokić not being on the floor. Gordon makes both. Why foul? Why bail Denver out of a possession without Jokić on the floor?

• Worse still, after Gordon's free throws, Daigneault used his final timeout—essentially gifting the Nuggets a free look at drawing up their final play. And boy did they draw it up perfectly.

• When Gordon’s triple splashed through the net with 4 seconds left, OKC couldn’t advance the ball. No timeouts. They had to inbound from the baseline, rushed a last-second heave, and that was that.

There’s no sugarcoating it. Daigneault mismanaged the final possessions—badly. The foul decision, the timeout usage, the failure to deny Jokić his spots—these are the decisions that cost playoff games. And potentially series.

Jokić: The Avalanche You Can’t Outrun

Of course, it’s not all on the Thunder. Sometimes, the other guy is just too damn good. Nikola Jokić played one of the most dominant playoff games of the modern era.

• 42 points

• 22 rebounds

• 6 assists

• 2 blocks

• +10 plus-minus

• 18 points in the 4th quarter alone

And it wasn’t just the stats. It was the timing. Every Thunder dagger was answered with a Jokić fadeaway, a spin move, a dagger three. In the final minutes, he wasn’t just executing plays—he was calling them. Literally.

With head coach Michael Malone ejected, it was Jokić who led the huddles, drawing up sets like a Serbian Steve Nash. And he didn’t just draw them—he hit the shots too. His fourth-quarter barrage was a basketball clinic in poise, IQ, and killer instinct.

As Russell Westbrook said postgame: “Best player on the planet. Simple as that.”

Hard to argue with that.

Thunder Stars Come Up Short

On the flip side, OKC’s Big Three were all... just a little off. Not awful, but not enough.

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists. Solid on paper, but couldn’t match Jokić’s late-game brilliance. His final possession dunk put OKC up three, but defensively, he was quiet, and he had no say in the final two possessions.

• Jalen Williams: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists on 5-of-20 shooting. Brutal night offensively, especially late. Fourth quarter: 7 shots, 1 make.

• Chet Holmgren: 12 points, 6 boards, 4 blocks. But his crunch-time résumé? Missed fast-break dunk, missed both free throws in the final minute. Painful.

These are growing pains, no doubt. But this was a winnable game. Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. was an invisible 1-of-8. Murray had an average night. And still, OKC let it slip.

The Caruso Revelation

One silver lining? Alex Caruso.

26 minutes. 20 points. 6 assists. 5 steals. 2 blocks. 7-of-12 shooting. 5-of-9 from three.

Caruso was everywhere. His defense on Murray, his off-ball rotations, his timely shooting—it all kept OKC afloat. Without him, this game isn’t close.

And let’s not forget: Caruso was acquired last summer for Josh Giddey in a trade many questioned. Well, both teams seem pretty happy now. Caruso helped OKC to a franchise-best 68 wins and is proving himself as a legit playoff X-factor. Meanwhile, Giddey is thriving as Chicago’s centerpiece post-All-Star break.

Still, if your MVP front-runner needs Caruso to bail him out in crunch time, it’s a problem.

A Dangerous Precedent

We’ve seen this movie before. A young team, loaded with talent, trips on the biggest stage not because of talent, but because of decision-making. Last year, it was Sacramento vs. Golden State. Before that, it was the 2021 Suns in the Finals. Great teams become champions when they learn from these moments.

But right now, there’s reason for concern in OKC. Not existential panic—but real, basketball-related anxiety.

They’re still the favorites to win the series. They’re younger, deeper, and probably more athletic. But if Game 1 taught us anything, it’s this: talent alone won’t cut it in May. You need poise. You need leadership. And sometimes, you just need a coach who doesn’t turn a three-point lead into a tactical nightmare.

Mark Daigneault has been a Coach of the Year candidate all season. But playoff pressure is a different beast. The margin for error is microscopic, and the difference between legendary and forgettable is often one decision.

The Thunder had the Nuggets on the ropes. Instead, they handed Nikola Jokić the scalpel and let him perform open-heart surgery on their Game 1 dreams.

And you don’t survive that kind of operation twice.

Postscript: If the Thunder go on to lose this series, it won’t just be because of a buzzer-beater. It’ll be because they gave away the one game they had no business losing. And if they don’t course correct fast, that 68-win dream season might end up as just that—a dream.