Rest night for the stars, statement night for the subs. The Denver Nuggets parked their usual starters on Friday and still cruised past the Oklahoma City Thunder 127-107 at Ball Arena, clinching a top-four seed in the Western Conference.
Denver actually trailed 87-85 late in the third quarter before the second unit took over. The reserves ripped off a 21-5 burst to start the fourth, turning a tight game into a comfortable win and giving the Nuggets some breathing room in the standings heading into the season finale.
Jonas Valanciunas powered that surge with season highs of 23 points and 17 rebounds, while Julian Strawther poured in 22 and David Roddy added a season-high 21. Denver's bench outscored Oklahoma City's 50-37, stretching an 11-game streak and locking in at least the No. 4 seed in the West, according to ESPN.
Bench Depth Carries Denver
The game flipped on defense and timely shot-making from Denver's role players, who first erased the deficit, then slammed the door. The Nuggets' official box score credits the bench with 50 points, and Valanciunas' double-double gave Denver steady interior production from start to finish. That balance kept any Thunder comeback attempt at arm's length and let the coaching staff sit key regulars without sweating the result, per the NBA.com box score.
Thunder Rest, Awards Math And What Comes Next
Oklahoma City had already wrapped up the league's top seed earlier in the week and treated the trip like a maintenance night. Most regular starters watched from the sideline. Lu Dort was the only usual starter to log minutes, finishing with five points, while Branden Carlson led the Thunder with 23.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault noted Dort needs 20 minutes in each of the final two games to qualify for season awards, so the outing doubled as an awards-eligibility tune-up, according to ESPN. Local coverage from the Denver Gazette includes additional comments from acting head coach David Adelman on how and why Denver leaned so heavily on its bench.
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