Player grades: Thunder help Nuggets' seeding with 127-107 loss

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Ripping the ball away from Nikola Topic before he even crossed halfcourt, Julian Strawther's steal-and-slam was OKC's signal to exit the upside-down world. Finagling the standings with a weekend to go, the reigning NBA champions punted this game to its bigger-picture benefits.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder completed their necessary mission with a 127-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets. For the first time in years, most fans likely rooted for this result. Part of the wacky nature of April regular-season hoops.

With the first seed clinched, the Thunder have zero incentive to run out their starters in these last two games. And if anything, they have an incentive to drop this one. The Nuggets are jockeying for the third seed. If they can stay there, that means OKC won't see either of them or the San Antonio Spurs until the Western Conference Finals.

That's why it made strategic sense for the Thunder to sit out their entire rotation — even if it goes against the spirit of the game. And weirdly enough, the Nuggets did the same. For what reason? Who knows. But the motivation became trivial due to the result.

It took a while for either team to find a rhythm. You can tell that these short-handed versions of the Thunder and Nuggets have seldom played together. Needing a couple of more 20-plus-minute games to gain All-Defensive eligibility, Lu Dort paid the price for his participation with heavy boo's by the Denver crowd that has grown to despise him.

Against a small lineup, Jonas Valanciunas ate down-low. He went into a scoring frenzy early on. Nikola Topic equalled his production. He drove downhill and showed off his range from the outside. The Thunder were in a 34-27 deficit after the first quarter.

Things stayed close throughout the second quarter. The Thunder had 24 points in the frame. Jared McCain started to hit on his outside jumpers. For the Nuggets, Strawther suddenly got hot. Bruce Brown also flirted with a triple-double. After elbowing David Roddy's nose, Dort's foul was reviewed for a flagrant foul — much to the crowd's delight.

And much to the crowd's dismay, Dort's foul remained regular. The Thunder entered halftime in a 59-51 deficit. Within single-digit points, the game was still up in the air. Coming out of the break, both teams became 3-point happy. They exchanged outside looks as the buckets came in a flurry.

Once Dort crossed 20 minutes, he checked out for good. Gaining confidence with each possession, Brooks Barnhizer made a couple of free-throw attempts to cut Denver's lead to 80-79 with three minutes left in the third frame. Uh oh. A little too close to comfort for those rooting for a loss.

The Thunder put up 34 points in the third quarter. Just your latest reminder that the Nuggets have been a bottom-10 defense for most of the regular season. They were in a 90-85 hole. Felt like we were on the verge of a tight finish. Those are usually stressful, but tonight's case would've been for inverse reasons.

Alas, the Nuggets popped the balloon on that idea. They started the fourth quarter by scoring the first 14 points. All mostly by Roddy — who was rocking a broken nose from Dort's elbow. The career journeyman made a sidestep 3-pointer to cap off an unreal scoring run by him.

Down 111-90 with six minutes left, the Thunder were on their way to a helpful loss. They only scored 22 points in the final frame. In a throwback to the tanking days, Kenrich Williams helped the cause. All you could've asked for in this one. It was at least interesting — despite the weird circumstances — and watchable through three-fourths of it.

The Thunder shot 43% from the field and went 14-of-44 (31.8%) from 3. They shot 9-of-12 on free throws. They had 25 assists on 42 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Topic finished with 14 points and 11 assists. Branden Carlson tallied a 23-point and 12-rebound double-double. McCain had 15 points and two assists. Williams finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Barnhizer had 14 points and nine rebounds. Aaron Wiggins scored 13 points.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets shot 51% from the field and went 21-of-43 (48.8%) from 3. They shot 12-of-13 on free throws. They had 28 assists on 47 baskets. Six Nuggets players scored double-digit points.

Valanciunas dominated with 23 points and 17 rebounds. Strawther finished with 22 points and four rebounds. Roddy had 21 points and two rebounds. Bruce totaled 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Pickett each scored 13 points apiece.

We'll see if the ends justify the means for the Thunder. Nothing was at stake, but deliberately messing with the NBA standings can cause some bad mojo — for folks that believe in that sorta thing when it comes to basketball. But regardless of how things shake out at the end of Sunday's finale, this was the sound move to make for various reasons.

You were also able to see the end of the Thunder's bench log serious minutes. And you don't want to overreact to a one-game sample, but there were some exciting things to take away from this one. Expect a similar lineup for OKC's regular-season home finale. For now, the main rotation has earned the perks of some extended rest with the NBA's best record locked up.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Nikola Topic: B-minus

Getting Curtis Jones to backtrack, Topic jammed on his brakes. Feeling daring, he went with the stepback 3-pointer despite the solid contest. The 20-year-old was already on his way back to defense as his outside jumper rattled in. Phew. He isn't afraid to let it fly.

Topic finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 11 assists and two rebounds. He shot 2-of-3 from 3. He also had four steals.

Nearly two years since he was drafted, the Thunder finally saw Topic log serious minutes in an NBA game. It took clearing an obstacle-filled road to get to this point — with both a basketball-serious injury and a life-serious diagnosis. Of course, most know his story by now.

Topic missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL he sustained in May 2024. After showing promise in the 2025 Summer League and OKC's preseason opener, he learned the scary news that he had testicular cancer in Oct. 2025. Going through rounds of chemotherapy, he finally made his NBA debut in the game before the NBA All-Star break.

Since then, Topic has mostly been with the G League's OKC Blue while sporadically playing limited minutes on the Thunder. In his first start, the 20-year-old showed off why the excitement hasn't dulled down with his potential. He put his head down and attacked the basket for several driving layups. He also knocked down a couple of outside jumpers that showed off his fluidity and range.

The playmaking talent was also on full display. Double-digit assists are tangible evidence of that. Alas, eight turnovers also showed the same thing for why he remains a project. He'll need to clean up his ball security. And fast. That's the only way he can stick in the NBA. But that's a problem for another day. For now, it was super cool to see Topic play significant minutes at this level.

The Thunder won't rely on Topic for their upcoming playoff run. If he plays any minutes, it'll be because the game got out of hand — for better or worse. But you saw why the former lottery talent had fans within OKC's building a couple of years ago.

Branden Carlson: B-plus

In a pick-and-pop situation, Carlson called an audible. He muscled his way through Strawther's contest before he maneuvered his way around Zeke Nnaji's rim contest. The 26-year-old threw down an enthusiastic jam that had OKC's bench jump off in excitement.

Carlson finished with 23 points on 8-of-18 shooting, 12 rebounds and five assists. He shot 3-of-10 from 3 and went 4-of-4 on free throws. He also had one block.

Taking advantage of all the reps up for grabs, Carlson finished as OKC's sole 20-point scorer. Valanciuna's poor cement feet couldn't keep up with his low-key springiness. The two-way player was fed a handful of alley-oops and showed he's more than just your typical stretch big.

Carlson beat up the Nuggets' skeleton crew. He ate on the boards and had several putbacks. When he didn't camp around the rim, he was a catch-and-shoot threat. While not the most efficient night from the outside, he welcomed the additional volume.

Good for Carlson to enjoy a couple of NBA games at the end of the regular season. Because he's a two-way player, he won't be eligible to play in the playoffs. So he's got a couple of Swan songs to sing as the Thunder locked up the first seed. He's been a massive help as OKC dealt with injuries all season.

Kenrich Williams: C-minus

The second-longest tenured player on the Thunder, Williams likely felt some deja vu in this one. Only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort beat him out in OKC seniority. For the first time in years, the 31-year-old entered a game knowing that their preferred outcome was a loss. And he did his part.

Williams finished with 15 points on 7-of-22 shooting, 12 rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-6 from 3. He also had two steals.

Considering the number of guys out, Williams took one for the team by being one of the eight who suited up. His award? Taking as many shots as he wanted. He's been in the backend of OKC's rotation for most of the season, but has usually helped out when called on. So it was cool to see him enjoy some fruit by trying out his jumper and ballerina-ing his way to the rim.

For context of how insane Williams' 22 shot attempts are, you have to add up his last eight games to match that number. The shot didn't fall at an efficient clip, but somebody needed to put up some attempts. And considering his lengthy experience, he wasn't hesitant like some of the other guys who played.

Probably not the most effective way to run an NBA-level offense, but that was by design. You never root for a loss, but the Thunder seem perfectly content that the Nuggets remained in the race for the third seed. Even if it comes at the cost of a loss.

Even with their crazy depth, there are always spots for Williams to play. He might not get a serious run in the NBA playoffs again, but he's a great situational player who can help out when the game calls for a low-scoring, physical playstyle.

Jared McCain: C-plus

Running DHO actions with Carlson, McCain curled around his screen to swish in an outside jumper. Later on, he got a little experimental. Turning down a decent outside attempt, he sharply turned the corner to get into the paint and flick in a floater in front of Valanciunas.

McCain finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, two assists and one rebound. He shot 3-of-8 from 3.

Needing to field out an eight-man rotation, McCain was one of the beneficiaries. His role has fluctuated since he arrived in OKC. Some nights, he puts up 20 points. Other nights, you rarely see him on the floor. Throwing him a treat, he received his first start since he joined the Thunder.

You saw McCain show off his scoring bag. It was a jumper-happy diet. His motor helped him move around as OKC's constant ball movement carved out open looks. Say what you want about his size or defense, but there's a role for him in the NBA purely off his bucket-getting abilities.

Showing their hand a little, the Thunder pulled McCain for the final time with three minutes left in the third quarter. He didn't play the final 15 minutes, despite it being a gettable game. Interesting. While he won't be at the forefront of their playoff rotation, you can see him getting situational minutes, too — ala Williams from above.

We'll see what happens in the NBA playoffs. But expectations should be pretty low for McCain. Not because of anything he's done, but because of just how ridiculously deep the Thunder. Now, that doesn't mean there won't be moments where he checks into games with the hope of some quick offense.

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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder help Nuggets' seeding with 127-107 loss

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