Nuggets-Thunder Game 6 3-pointers: Julian Strawther plunges the dagger, Christian Braun makes his case

An unlikely hero powered the Nuggets to a Challenge with a - win over the Thunder on Thursday night Here are three key takeaways from Tournament No Straw man For the majority of these playoffs interim head coach David Adelman has waved his finger to a slew of different bodies sitting at the end of his bench as the Nuggets have looked for any passable eighth-man minutes against a Thunder group teeming with fresh legs Introducing Julian Strawther folks The Nuggets second-year wing was sidelined down the stretch of the regular season with injury but seemed like a candidate at selected point to offer helpful minutes one of the only shooters from in - with upside on Denver s bench And he delivered in a surprisingly vital spot in Tournament Locked in a tie with OKC late in the third quarter Strawther nailed a triple off a pass from Jamal Murray A minute later he spotted up from the corner and splashed another slapping hands with a courtside fan And as Adelman rode the hot hand in a huge show of trust in the fourth quarter Strawther spotted up again from the right wing with four minutes left Ball Arena holding a -point lead and smelling blood His wrist flicked true and Strawther plunged the dagger in Oklahoma City s heart with a -point night Christian Braun is making himself various dough Here s a quick rundown of Christian Braun s resume High school state champion College national champion NBA champion as a rookie Fourth-place finish in the NBA s Largest part Improved Sportsman voting this season With Thursday night too you can add best competitor on the floor for first half of Nuggets-Thunder Challenge too He nailed three s in the first half to quell shooting woes including a stepback to kick off a - Denver run shortly before the break He s been key as a relentless point-of-attack defender from James Harden in Round to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in Round And he out-hustled the Thunder on Thursday with two third-quarter offensive boards and total rebounds on the night to go with five assists three steals and a playoff-high points Regardless of the Championship outcome Braun can take all that ink slam on the desk of interim GM Ben Tenzer or whoever s in that chair this summer and demand a hefty raise He ll become eligible for an extension heading into next year with his rookie contract expiring come - And Braun s status should be high on the list of the Nuggets offseason priorities Related Articles Nuggets Jamal Murray available for Battle vs Thunder despite illness David Adelman on Nuggets Meeting blown lead to Thunder If it is fatigue that s on me Renck Nuggets Nikola Jokic deserves better from teammates David Adelman in fourth quarter Nuggets Michael Porter Jr blames self for losses in Games and I haven t been contributing PHOTOS Denver Nuggets fall to OKC Thunder - in Challenge of NBA Playoffs second round series Nuggets win the foul dance Physicality undoubtedly has been the undercurrent that s swept through fan bases and players alike in this matchup And for six games the Thunder one of the league s lowest foul-drawing teams in - had largely ridden the wave The Nuggets have bemoaned the lack of whistles for Nikola Jokic as the star center tried to rediscover offense in multiple games by drawing contact In Championship though the Nuggets lived to fight another day by saddling the foul artist with a taste of his own medicine After Jokic drew a third foul on Gilgeous-Alexander with four minutes to play in the second half Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault gambled and left his star guard on the hardwood Jokic struck again not two minutes later drawing a fourth foul on Gilgeous-Alexander with an entire half left to play Up - Daigneault had to pull Gilgeous-Alexander And the Nuggets this instant zipped to an - run to seize momentum before the break a hugely significant sequence in a Competition win Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis