With a spot in the Western Conference finals hanging in the balance, the Denver Nuggets showed their championship DNA by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-107 on Thursday night. The series is now tied 3-3 and heads back to Oklahoma City for a highly anticipated, winner-take-all Game 7.

Nikola Jokic led Denver with 29 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists, but this game featured some of the best showings from his teammates. Jamal Murray, who was dealing with an illness, scored 25 points and Christian Braun scored a career playoff-best 23 points.

One unexpected hero for the Nuggets was Julian Strawther. Although he played sparingly throughout the playoffs, the rookie saved his best performance for the team's most important game. Strawther posted 15 points, shooting 4 of 8 from the field and 3-of-4 on 3s, mostly in the third quarter when the Nuggets began to pull ahead.

“We fed off his energy,” Murray said. “Super proud of him.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the favorite to win this year’s MVP award, led the Thunder with 32 points but suffered from early foul trouble. His supporting cast was not at their best including Jalen Williams who scored only six points on 3-of-16 shooting.

“I just hurt us tonight not making shots,” Williams said. “I got to spots I wanted to get to, they didn’t go in. That’s how basketball works.”

After playing every other day since April 29, the Denver Nuggets  will now have one day of rest before Game 7.

“Guys looked more happy to have two days off than to be going to a Game 7,” Denver interim head coach David Adelman noted.

As the series heads back to OKC, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault is anticipating a strong response from his young team in front of the home crowd.

“First of all, credit Denver — they threw a punch tonight as has happened in the series, both teams are exchanging blows," Daigneault said. “They got theirs in tonight, and both teams have done a great job of standing back up, including us, and we need to do that on Sunday.”