Nuggets saved by the most unlikely of playoff heroes to force Game 7 vs. Thunder

With the Denver Nuggets’ season on the brink, the usual Nikola Jokic bat signal was answered by an unfamiliar face.

Julian Strawther, a reserve player who mostly gets mop-up duty for the Nuggets and was otherwise a “did not play, coach’s decision” in five games these playoffs, caught fire for Denver in the third quarter of their 119-107 Game 6 home win over the Thunder.

Strawther checked into Thursday’s Game 6 with 3:07 left in the third quarter and the Nuggets leading, 80-78.

The second-year pro out of Gonzaga, drafted No. 29 in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Pacers, put on a show, immediately grabbing an offensive rebound and drilling back-to-back 3-pointers that did not even hit the rim.

Strawther scored eight points in the final 97 seconds of the third quarter to help the Nuggets build a 90-82 lead after three quarters and they never looked back.

Strawther’s heroics were much needed for the Nuggets and ended the game with a playoff career-high of 15 points and shot 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

“I think we all came through as a collective,” Strawther said on the court postgame. “We couldn’t do this one man at a time. We had to come together as a group … My guys found me in spots and I took shots I know I could make. I understood the assignment.”

He later said in the locker room: “That’s the moments you dream of when you was a little kid.”

After Strawther nailed his second 3-pointer in less than a minute, he high-fived a fan in the front row as he ran down the other end of the court.

His last 3-pointer gave the Nugget a 109-93 lead with less than four minutes remaining and all but sealed the game, eliciting a raucous ovation from the crowd.

“I don’t even remember, honestly,” he said.

His standout performance is all the more memorable since it seemingly came out of nowhere.

Strawther is averaging just 8.8 minutes per game in these playoffs, producing just four points per game even including Thursday’s outburst.

Denver now heads back to Oklahoma City for Game 7 opposite a Thunder team that was a Goliath during the regular season.

The No. 1 seed has shown cracks in their armor in this series against the Nuggets, though, while Denver will hope to show that championship pedigree in a win-or-go-home game.