Oklahoma

Nuggets deliver in fourth quarter, setting up Game 7 with Thunder in Oklahoma City

Published

10 months ago

May 16, 2025

Nuggets deliver in fourth quarter, setting up Game 7 with Thunder in Oklahoma City

DENVER — The Denver Nuggets weren’t going down at home.

Following consecutive late-game collapses in losses to Oklahoma City, the Nuggets closed strong Thursday night for a 119-107 Game 6 win over the Thunder. The win ties the Western Conference semifinal series at 3-3 and sends it back to Oklahoma City for a winner-take-all Game 7 with a berth in the Western Conference finals at stake.

Gassed and worn down by a deep and relentless Thunder roster, the Nuggets lost Games 4 and 5 after holding leads of at least eight points in the fourth quarter of each game. They entered the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game with a 90-82 advantage.

This time, they held on for the win as Denver didn’t have to lean almost strictly on Nikola Jokić down the stretch. Julian Strawther provided a big burst off the bench, and the Nuggets got a balanced effort from their starting unit, including a strong game from Jamal Murray, who was questionable with an undisclosed illness in the hour before tipoff.

Murray sets tone while playing sick

Murray opened Denver’s scoring with a four-point play after being fouled on a 3-pointer and finished the first quarter with 11 points, quelling concerns that he wouldn’t be a factor in a closeout game for the Nuggets.

“I kind of was watching the first six minutes like is this real, can he do it?” Nuggets coach David Adelman said after the game. “That’s Jamal Murray. It’s almost like the worse it is, the better off it’s gonna be. What a tough-minded man.”

Murray cooled off and made just 1-of-5 shots in the second quarter. But he picked things back up in the third quarter as the Nuggets mounted a 32-21 run to seize control of the game.

Murray finished as Denver’s second-leading scorer with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. And he never had a doubt that he would play.

“I woke up feeling it,” Murray said. “Went to the clinic, got tested for a couple different things, was negative. Happy about that. But I was always gonna play in my mind.”

No fourth-quarter collapse this time

Playing with a shallow bench, Nuggets coach David Adelman leaned on Jokić for the entire fourth quarter of Tuesday’s 112-105 loss as the three-time MVP was Denver’s only reliable source of offense. That wasn’t the case Thursday night.

Jokić spent the first 4:07 of the fourth quarter resting on the bench as Adelman gambled that his supporting cast would fend off Oklahoma City. That supporting cast delivered. When Jokić returned to the game, Denver had extended its lead to 97-86.

The reward was a rested Jokić for the stretch run of the game, and the Thunder never challenged Denver’s lead again. A Ball Arena crowd that was previously anxious after watching Denver blow a 71-63 lead in Sunday’s Game 4 loss erupted.

“Last game I kind of kicked myself for not taking one of them out,” Adelman said of playing Jokić and Murray for the entire fourth quarter of Game 5. “Nikola seemed body-language wise like he wanted to sit for a second.

“The beautiful thing was I had four timeouts again. I know it didn’t work out last game. That does let you control your substitutions. Those guys held water to start that quarter.”

Strawther provides bench support Denver desperately needs

One of those guys who held water was little-used reserve Julian Strawther, who’d entered Thursday averaging 2.4 points in 7.3 minutes per game while making appearances in seven of Denver’s previous 12 playoff games.

Strawther was the star of the third-quarter rally that allowed the Nuggets to take control of the game that was tied at 78-78 with 3:58 left in the quarter. The Nuggets closed the quarter on a 12-4 run sparked by eight points from Strawther, whose 3-pointer with 1:37 left in the quarter was the first off the bench by the Nuggets.

He hit another with 36.1 seconds remaining to extend Denver’s lead to 88-80.

Strawther’s offensive outburst and defensive effort earned Adelman’s trust to keep him in the game for 10 more minutes in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets thwarted any hope of a Thunder rally.

Strawther rewarded Adelman’s trust with another big 3 down the stretch while playing high-leverage minutes.

“That’s the moment that you dream of when you was a little kid,” Strawther said. “Come into the game, having all the guys believe in you and find you in your spots and just being able to make an impact on the game.”

When the game was done, Strawther had tallied 15 points while shooting 4 of 8 from the field, including a 3-of-4 effort from long distance. It was the surge off the bench this Nuggets team has desperately sought late in this series.

“Julian’s gonna get credit for scoring 15 points,” Adelman said. “I thought he held water defensively, too. That was a big deal.

“You want to keep an offensive player out there. But they have to be able to handle their own on the other end and he did. We didn’t have to change dramatically defensively because he sat down, moved his feet and guarded.”

Support for Nikola Jokić

While Strawther led the bench unit, four different Nuggets starters scored in double figures. Jokić led the way with 29 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 1 block while shooting 9 of 14 from the field. But again, it wasn’t all on him.

Christian Braun added 23 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Coming off a 1-of-7, 3-point effort in Game 5, Michael Porter Jr. put up a considerably more efficient 10 points on nine shots while hitting 2-of-5 attempts from long distance.

It added up to a much-needed balanced effort after players not named Jokić shot a combined 1 of 15 from the field in the fourth quarter of Denver’s Game 5 collapse. Jokić spoke about his teammates after the game.

“He was amazing,” Jokić said of Strawther. “He had big points, big moments in the game. … It was a great game for him.

“I think CB played really good. Jamal played really good. Our defense was really good, I think. I think that’s why we won the game.”

The Nuggets won the game from long distance and on the boards. They shot 12 of 32 (37.5%) from 3 compared to an 11-of-40 (27.5%) effort from the Thunder. And they secured a 52-40 rebounding advantage, including an 11-7 edge on the offensive glass.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 32 points and six assists. Chet Holmgren (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Lugentz Dort (10 points) were the only other Thunder starters in double figures. All-Star forward Jalen Williams struggled from the field with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists on a 3-of-16 shooting night.

Concern for Aaron Gordon

Aaron Gordon was the only Nuggets starter to fail to reach double figures in a five-point effort. And he appeared to sustain a hamstring injury in the game’s final minutes. He clutched his left hamstring after chasing a loose ball in the game’s final two minutes and left the game with 1:10 remaining.

Adelman said after the game that he didn’t know Gordon’s injury status. Gordon said in the Nuggets locker room that he feels “OK.”

“I feel OK. We’ll see,” Gordon said of his status moving forward. “I’m gonna start the recovery process now and make sure I’m getting ready for Game 7. Not entirely sure what happened.”

Denver’s Game 7 experience edge

The series now shifts back to Oklahoma City on Sunday 3:30 p.m. ET, when the Nuggets will play in a Game 7 for a third consecutive series. They lost in the second round last season in Game 7 to the Minnesota Timberwolves and beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of these playoffs.

In fact, the Game 7 will be the seventh for the Nuggets since Murray and Jokić teamed up in Denver, dating back to the 2019 playoffs. But it will mark the first time they’ve played one on the road. They’ve won four of their previous six Game 7s.

The last time the Thunder played in a Game 7 was in the first round of the 2020 playoffs in Gilgeous-Alexander’s first season with the team. The Thunder lost that series to the Houston Rockets in the NBA bubble.

The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to face the Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals, which begin on Tuesday.

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Oklahoma

Where to watch Oklahoma vs. Idaho in March Madness First Round: Time, TV Channel

Published

12 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Where to watch Oklahoma vs. Idaho in March Madness First Round: Time, TV Channel

March Madness is underway and college basketball’s big dance continues with No. 4 seed Oklahoma taking on No. 13 seed Idaho in a First Round matchup on Friday, March 20. Here’s everything you need to know to tune in for the clash between the Vandals and Sooners.

USA TODAY Sports has a team of journalists covering women’s March Madness to keep you up to date with every point scored, rebound grabbed and game won in the 68-team tournament.

USA TODAY Studio IX: Check out our women’s sports hub for in-depth analysis, commentary and more

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What time is Idaho vs Oklahoma First Round game?

No. 4 Oklahoma vs No. 13 Idaho tips off at 10:00 PM (EST) on Friday, March 20 from Lloyd Noble Center (Norman, Oklahoma).

What channel is Idaho vs Oklahoma First Round game?

No. 4 Oklahoma vs No. 13 Idaho is airing live on ESPN.

How to stream Idaho vs Oklahoma First Round game

No. 4 Oklahoma vs No. 13 Idaho is available to stream on Fubo.

Watch the NCAA Tournament all March long with Fubo

Women’s March Madness schedule today

See the schedule, live scores and resultsfor all of Friday’s NCAA Tournament action here.

2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament full schedule

March 18-19: First Four
March 20-21: First Round
March 22-23: Second Round
March 27-28: Sweet 16
March 29-30: Elite 8
April 3: Final Four
April 5: National Championship

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Oklahoma

Huskers roll past Troy for first NCAA Tournament win in program history

Published

1 day ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Huskers roll past Troy for first NCAA Tournament win in program history

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (WOWT) – Nebraska men’s basketball has finally broken through in March.

The 4‑seed Huskers dominated 13‑seed Troy, 76–47, at Paycom Center on Thursday, securing the first NCAA Tournament win in program history and advancing to the Round of 32.

Nebraska blew the game open in the first half and never let Troy back in. The Huskers led 41–25 at halftime and stretched the margin throughout the second half, turning what many expected to be a tricky 4‑13 matchup into a statement win.

Pryce Sandfort powered Nebraska’s offense, pouring in 23 points, including 7 three‑pointers, as the Huskers consistently found clean looks and pushed the pace. Nebraska’s defense was just as sharp, bottling up Troy’s shooters and controlling the glass to deny the Trojans second‑chance opportunities.

Troy, the back‑to‑back Sun Belt champion, came in with five straight 20‑win seasons and a reputation for balance and toughness. But Nebraska’s size, depth and shooting wore the Trojans down as the game went on. Earlier in the day, Husker fans packed the Skirvin Hotel for a send‑off and then turned Paycom Center into a home‑away‑from‑home, roaring as Nebraska closed in on history.

Nebraska now awaits its Round of 32 opponent as the South Region bracket continues to unfold.

HALF – Nebraska 41, Troy 25
The #Huskers established the paint early, and opened up the floor for the Pryce Sandfort Show.
17 Pts, 5-8 from 3pt range. Complete dominance with his brother in the house to watch. #GBR pic.twitter.com/1dgnWqjrjI
— Clayton Collier (@ClaytonJCollier) March 19, 2026
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100 Years of the Mother Road: Wellston’s Route 66 revival

Published

2 days ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

100 Years of the Mother Road: Wellston’s Route 66 revival

WELLSTON, Okla. –

As we highlight the centennial of Route 66, News On 6 is taking a look at how one Oklahoma town fought for the Mother Road, suing when developers wanted to bypass it. Today, that court decision is still having an impact, as the community is seeing a resurgence 100 years in the making.

The midpoint of Route 66 in Oklahoma

Of the 400 miles of Route 66 in Oklahoma, one town sits right in the middle.

“We’re the midpoint of Route 66 in Oklahoma, which is kind of a cool thing to hang our hat on,” Route 66 Commission Chairman Thomas Tillison Jr. said.

The town of Wellston is halfway to Texas, halfway to Missouri and at one point in time was a key point along the Mother Road.

“We have photos of businesses down here — Main Street is packed. Every spot is full. Over time, it became less and less,” Andrew Steffenson said.

Like so many other small towns along Route 66, time ticked on, interstates moved in and people moved away. Wellston, though, faced an additional challenge: in the 1930s, developers almost took this town essentially off the map.

“As far as locally here, that’s a point of frustration for our small town, because it kind of crushed our small town,” Tillison said.

Tillison has lived here since 1980 and, like others here, is well versed on the town’s complicated history and strong resilience.

“We were a thriving community”

The year was 1932. Route 66 was six years old. Wellston was hotter than ever.

“We were a thriving community,” Tillison said. “We had multiple cotton gins, mercantile stores, car dealerships, pharmacies; our downtown was thriving.”

But federal highway planners wanted to straighten Route 66 in spots by creating a shorter, more direct path west. In Wellston, that meant a new alignment south of town, which became known as the “gap.”

“When they bypassed us, we look at more of a bypass than a gap,” Tillison said.

Knowing what it would do to traffic and the local economy, locals quickly fought back. By 1933, residents filed several lawsuits, which eventually made it all the way to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

The Court sided with the town, meaning the highway department was ordered to pave and maintain the loop through Wellston. But despite the victory, the gap was paved as well.

“It just has slowly deteriorated since we were bypassed because we weren’t the main thoroughfare anymore,” Tillison said.

By 1939, the number of cars on the gap exceeded the number on the loop.

Restoring Wellston’s History

Today, the town of Wellston is still a very unique spot along Route 66. There is Route 66, but a loop called 66B takes you into the town of Wellston.

Along 66B, Steffenson runs one of the few businesses on the loop and has old pictures in his office.

“It’s nice to see how Wellston was and how it could be,” Steffenson said.

He and many others in town are working to restore its history. New murals and landmarks are popping up, with plans for more this year. But perhaps the biggest draw to Wellston in recent years has to do with the smell of barbecue.

The Butcher BBQ Stand is a Wellston restaurant only open for lunch on weekends, but one that is gaining some fame outside of Oklahoma.

“Cutting meat and barbecuing on the weekends literally has been my whole life forever,” owner Levi Bouska said.

Bouska opened it in 2015 after growing up barbecuing with his dad and grandparents.

“When I first opened, it was just a 40-foot Conex, and everyone stood outside and waited in line,” Bouska said.

Word soon spread, and then people followed. And not just Oklahomans. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a line forms out front, long before the doors even open, with many of them taking Route 66 to visit Wellston specifically.

It’s something that’s been years in the making, and something people here hope is a sign of things to come.

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