Only one starter between OKC and Denver's rosters took the floor tonight.
A game that was originally circled on the calendar as a potential Western Conference Finals preview on Friday night ended up being a battle of the benches instead.
In this matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, the only usual starter between the two teams that suited up was Lu Dort, as he needed to eclipse 20 minutes to maintain eligibility for NBA awards and satisfy the 65-game rule. Outside of that, it was a battle of the backups, and while the game was fairly close and competitive for much of the night, the Nuggets ultimately pulled away for a 127-107 win.
Oddly enough, it was still kind of a win for the Thunder in the big picture.
If Denver is able to hold onto the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, that would mean Oklahoma City could avoid being on the same side of the bracket as both the Nuggets and the Spurs. In that scenario, those two teams would potentially have to battle it out before a possible meeting with the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. So despite the loss, this was not a game that carried much downside for OKC. The Thunder had already wrapped up the best record in the NBA and the No. 1 seed in the West, so the actual result did not matter much nearly as much as the broader playoff picture.
For Oklahoma City, the most meaningful part of the night was getting an extended look at some of the bench pieces.
Branden Carlson was one of the biggest standouts, finishing with 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Nikola Topic got the start and turned in a strong performance with 14 points and 11 assists for a double-double. Kenrich Williams added a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double of his own, while Jared McCain chipped in 15 points and gave the Thunder another solid spark.
Overall, there is not a ton to take away from this game from a basketball standpoint, simply because neither team was close to full strength and neither side was treating it like a true postseason-level matchup. The biggest takeaways are more macro than anything else, centered on the Western Conference seeding picture, the potential playoff bracket and the fact that Oklahoma City was able to get useful production from several reserve players in expanded roles.