Akin to a weatherman studying clouds and satellites before forecasting thunder — pun intended — Oklahoma City’s could-be Most Valuable Player evaluated Game Five’s win under the cautious pretense that Game Six would include the Denver Nuggets’ “greatest punch.” True to prediction, of all the combinations the Nuggets “threw” on May 15, 2025, with their season on the ropes, few landed harder than the ones that featured Julian Strawther in the lineup, striking from the outside. Something of a forgotten man after a relatively-dynamite start to 2024-25’s campaign, the smooth-shooting sophomore turned the win-or-go-home challenge into “The Julian Strawther Game,” recording all 15 of his points over a 13-minute, second-half span. The highwater mark arrived at the third quarter’s end, as Strawther deposited back-to-back-to-back buckets, highlighted by a left-corner catch-and-shoot triple to jumpstart Denver’s eventual runaway. Against a team known for its playful barks, the former Bulldog arrived to Ball Arena boasting the loudest growl of all, forcing a Game Six through his 15-point playoff breakout (on four-of-eight shooting), alongside two rebounds, and three 3-pointers. · May 16, 2025