The Thunder came into the game against the Nuggets with nothing to play for. They have the number one seed locked up in the West, so they sat their stars for rest, all of them. And so did the Nuggets. Their whole starting five sat for rest, too. It became a battle of the benches. And "Big Body" David Roddy took it upon himself to seize the moment and steal the show in the fourth quarter, helping lead the Nuggets to a 127-107 victory over the OKC Thunder.
Roddy saved his best for last, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter on 6-8 shooting and 2-3 from three-point land, and he finished the game with 21 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals across nearly 26 minutes, the most he's seen as a Nugget.
Roddy was signed on a two-way contract at the beginning of March to fill added depth after Spencer Jones was converted to a standard contract. Roddy, a former first-round pick out of Colorado State, was aggressive with his playing time and was a big reason the Nuggets pulled away in the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets decided to rest all of their starters
The Thunder came into the game with nothing to play for, so it made sense for them to sit their starters. The Nuggets are trying to claim the third seed in the Western Conference playoff standings, or so we thought.
The Nuggets decided to sit Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, and Christian Braun. They rested the starters and gambled that the bench could pull off the win, and it worked.
It remains to be seen if that same strategy will be deployed or not against the Spurs in the season finale. Head coach David Adelman said after the game that he will talk with each player before the game and make the decision to sit or play on an individual basis.
Nuggets' winning streak hits 11, playoff outlook clears up
The win was the Nuggets' 11th in a row, now tied for the third-longest in team history. They're peaking at the perfect time, and they're in full control of their destiny over the final day of the season.
The Nuggets currently occupy the third seed in the Western Conference, and a win in San Antonio against the Spurs in the season finale would secure the third seed, and keep the Thunder on the other side of the playoff bracket until the conference finals.
A loss opens up the door for the Lakers, who play the tanking Jazz, in the finale. A Lakers win and a Nuggets loss would move the Nuggets to fourth.
Third gets the Timberwolves and avoids the Thunder. Fourth gets the Rockets and then the Thunder in round two. The Nuggets may not care, and they could choose to rest against the Spurs.