The Oklahoma City Thunder lost by just two points to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.
They were up by a single point, but then Aaron Gordon scored a beauty of a three-pointer as the clock wound down, and the Thunder weren’t able to come back.
That three-pointer came seconds after Chet Holmgren missed one of his two free throw attempts.
Speaking to the press, Jalen Williams talked about that missed shot.
“They would’ve been nice but also at the same time, that’s not why we lost the game,” Williams said, per Celemente Alamanza on X.
Jalen Williams on Chet’s 2 missed FTs: “They would’ve been nice but also at the same time, that’s not why we lost the game.”
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) May 6, 2025
Although the Thunder would have loved to see Holmgren nail his second free throw, that ultimately wouldn’t have changed the final outcome if Gordon still made his shot.
Williams and the rest of his team aren’t focused on Holmgren and his shots at the charity stripe.
Instead, they are thinking about all of the mistakes they made throughout the night.
The Thunder weren’t looking like their usual selves during much of the game, especially in the fourth quarter as the final buzzer approached.
Perhaps they were tired or they didn’t expect such a challenge from the Nuggets, but the Thunder weren’t as dominant as they usually are.
That is ultimately what cost them the game.
Holmgren’s free throws would have been helpful, but they’re not the main reason they lost.
Now the Thunder will have to adjust and make sure that Game 2 isn’t like Game 1.
They can see where they went wrong, but now the stakes are higher than ever.
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