{"id":15390,"date":"2025-05-07T07:00:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T07:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/15390\/"},"modified":"2025-05-07T07:00:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T07:00:30","slug":"russell-westbrook-helps-steal-game-1-for-denver-nuggets-vs-okc-thunder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/15390\/","title":{"rendered":"Russell Westbrook helps steal Game 1 for Denver Nuggets vs OKC Thunder"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"play\"<\/p>\n

Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook ‘always grateful’ for OKC Thunder fans<\/p>\n

Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook ‘always grateful’ for OKC Thunder fans<\/p>\n

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-119 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.Former Thunder player Russell Westbrook played a key role in the Nuggets’ victory, assisting Aaron Gordon’s game-winning 3-pointer.The Thunder, who had the home-court advantage and rest advantage, now face a must-win Game 2.<\/p>\n

Russell Westbrook<\/a>\u2019s smile was as wide as the brim of his black-feathered hat. Something straight out of Zorro\u2019s closet. The kind of hat that\u2019s fit for a heist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oklahoma City was the scene of a stunning bit of thievery Monday night \u2014\u00a0a 121-119 Nuggets win over the Thunder<\/a> in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals<\/a> \u2014\u00a0and Westbrook was a main accomplice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was the former Thunder legend who assisted Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon on the game-winning 3-pointer<\/a> with four seconds left.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Westbrook, in his ninth game back in OKC as a Thunder opponent, received a standing ovation when he first checked in. Thunder fans will never turn on Westbrook, but he might be greeted a little more half-heartedly in what will be a tense Game 2 on Wednesday \u2014\u00a0one the Thunder now desperately needs before the series heads to Denver.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m truly indebted to these fans and the people here,\u201d Westbrook said after the game. \u201cThey gave me a chance and believed in me when I was a little, young teenager. But the reason why they love me is my competitive nature, competitive spirit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Standing in the visitor\u2019s locker room, on the opposite side of the hallway he occupied for 11 years, Westbrook was hamming it up. He and the Nuggets had every right to relish the win<\/a>. That Thunder rest advantage we made such a big deal about? It\u2019s irrelevant now. The Thunder stumbled down the stretch while Nikola Jokic<\/a> and the Nuggets showed their championship mettle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CARLSON: OKC Thunder’s collapse vs Nuggets was a disaster in every way. Recovery? It’s no easy task<\/a><\/p>\n

A litany of little Thunder mistakes \u2014\u00a0missed free throws and questionable coaching decisions \u2014\u00a0left the door open for Denver.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And Gordon only needed a crack.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the soul of this team,\u201d Jokic said of Gordon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gordon had 22 points and 14 rebounds. A staggering stat line until you look at Jokic\u2019s 42 points and 22 boards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neither Chet Holmgren<\/a> nor Isaiah Hartenstein<\/a> \u2014\u00a0anchors of the best defense in the NBA \u2014\u00a0were equipped to guard Jokic. Not on this night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best player in the world,\u201d Westbrook said of Joker. \u201cPlain and simple.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jokic had more turnovers (seven) than assists (six), a rarity for him, and the Nuggets survived despite being outscored 23-5 in points off turnovers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For as clutch as Gordon was, and as mythical as Jokic played, Westbrook\u2019s 30 minutes off the bench were just as integral to the win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eighteen points and the game-winning dish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Had a basketball series not crowded his calendar, Westbrook would\u2019ve been at the Met Gala on Monday night. The outfit he wore was red-carpet worthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And equally befitting of a Game 1 steal.<\/p>\n

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at\u00a0jmussatto@oklahoman.com<\/a>. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a\u00a0digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

REQUIRED READING: Thunder squanders Game 1 vs Nuggets and Chet Holmgren knows he must ‘be better’<\/a><\/p>\n

More OKC Thunder news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook ‘always grateful’ for OKC Thunder fans Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook ‘always grateful’ for OKC…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3781],"tags":[2126,7,618,366,311,301,187,3943,2127,948,2125,619,947,949,70,85,6,11,67,302,310,179,61,134,34,132,2157,254,66,83,55,2128,312,2158],"class_list":{"0":"post-15390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-nuggets","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-chet","11":"tag-chet-holmgren","12":"tag-city","13":"tag-denver","14":"tag-denver-nuggets","15":"tag-denvernuggets","16":"tag-enabled","17":"tag-hartenstein","18":"tag-highlights","19":"tag-holmgren","20":"tag-isaiah","21":"tag-isaiah-hartenstein","22":"tag-national","23":"tag-national-sports","24":"tag-nba","25":"tag-nba-playoffs","26":"tag-news","27":"tag-nuggets","28":"tag-oklahoma","29":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","30":"tag-overall","31":"tag-overall-positive","32":"tag-playoffs","33":"tag-positive","34":"tag-russell","35":"tag-russell-westbrook","36":"tag-sports","37":"tag-sports-news","38":"tag-story","39":"tag-story-highlights-ai-enabled","40":"tag-thunder","41":"tag-westbrook"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114465268358934515","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}