Denver beat Oklahoma City 119-107 in Game 6 Thursday night, setting up a winner-take-all battle in the Western Conference semifinals.
Julian Strawther, the second-year standout, came alive with 15 points after halftime. He drilled three huge three-pointers that helped put the Thunder away.
"Julian is going to get credit for scoring 15 points. I thought he held water defensively, too. That was a big deal," said coach David Adelman to DNVR Nuggets.
The home team jumped out to an early double-digit lead, but Oklahoma City grabbed control before halftime. After the break, Denver took over as Strawther caught fire.
This stellar game dwarfed the guard's earlier playoff appearances. He'd averaged just two points per game before Thursday, never scoring more than five points in any contest.
Ball Arena went wild with each three-pointer Strawther knocked down. The NBA TV announcers called it "The Julian Strawther Game" as his electric 20 minutes changed everything.
These teams have met four times in the playoffs. The matchups are split at two wins each, going back to when Oklahoma City was still the Seattle SuperSonics.
Their previous playoff clash happened in 2011 when Oklahoma City eliminated Denver with a 4-1 first-round win. Both teams look completely different now.
Game 7 means everything - the winner moves on to fight for the conference title while the loser heads home for the summer.
