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SGA vs. Jokic: playoff series importance

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander must prove his MVP worth by leading the Thunder past Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.

The Denver Nuggets are on the brink of elimination from the 2025 NBA playoffs, and one of their stars is dealing with an illness in their do-or-die game.

Guard Jamal Murray was added to the Nuggets’ injury report around 3:30 p.m. ET Thursday due to an illness. He was listed as questionable for Game 6 of the second-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but in an update posted roughly 45 minutes before the scheduled tip-off, the Nuggets said he would be “available.”

The Nuggets say he will be in the starting lineup.

It’s unclear what illness Murray is dealing with, but it comes as the Nuggets are down 3-2 in the Western Conference semifinals. Denver hosts top-seeded Oklahoma City Thursday night.

Murray was the second-leading scorer for Denver in the regular season behind Nikola Jokic, and he’s been the Nuggets’ No. 2 scorer in the playoffs with 22.3 points, 5.3 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. He has averaged 21.4 points per game in the five contests against Oklahoma City, and he’s coming off a 28-point performance in Denver’s 112-105 Game 5 defeat.

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This story has been updated with new information.