Thunder’s 48-Point Lead After 3 Quarters Tied 4th-Largest Margin in NBA Playoff History

The Oklahoma City Thunder led 124-76 against the Denver Nuggets after the third quarter in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series on Wednesday night.

Thunder Led By As Many As 49 Points Against Denver In Game 2

According to Basketball Reference, the Thunder’s 48-point lead tied the fourth-largest margin after three quarters in NBA playoff history — one point fewer than OKC’s 49-point advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies entering the final quarter of this season’s playoff opener.

Oklahoma City also tied the franchise playoff record for the most points scored in a quarter by jumping out to a 45-21 lead after the first frame. It was the best scoring margin in any playoff quarter in franchise history.

Mark Daigneault:

“I didn’t really look at tonight as a response, as much as I looked at tonight as just us being who we are, and that’s how we’ve been all season.”

“We don’t really respond to the last game. When we win, we don’t have more confidence. When we lose we don’t…

— Nick Gallo (@NickAGallo) May 8, 2025

The Thunder were coming off a disappointing 121-119 loss in Game 1 to open the series. In Game 1, the Nuggets trailed by nine with less than three minutes remaining before Nikola Jokic rallied his squad, and before Denver secured the victory on Aaron Gordon’s 3-pointer with less than four seconds remaining.

“We knew what was at stake tonight,” Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We came out desperate. … I think I did a pretty good job in the first quarter.”

Indeed, he did. Gilgeous-Alexander accounted for more points in the first quarter (27) than the entire Denver team. The MVP favorite also scored 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor and dished out five assists.

Oklahoma City Broke NBA Playoff Record For Most Points Scored In A Half

Oklahoma City led 87-56 at halftime, breaking the NBA playoff record for the most points scored in a half. All five Thunder starters and reserve forward Aaron Wiggins had scored in double figures by halftime.

Gilgeous-Alexander dominated until the end of the third quarter, when he checked out of the game with the Thunder up by 48 points. He finished with 34 points and eight assists, shooting 11-of-13 from the floor and 11-of-11 at the foul line.

Per ESPN Stats & Information, the Thunder outscored the Nuggets by 51 points in Gilgeous-Alexander’s 30 minutes, giving him the best plus-minus in a playoff game since that statistic started being tracked in 1997-98.

“I definitely wanted to put an imprint on the game from the get [go] without trying to force anything, and ultimately still just let the game tell me what to do,” Gilgeous-Alexander added.

The best-of-seven series now shifts to Denver for Games 3 and 4.