Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the youthful Oklahoma Thunder are on the verge of making the franchise’s first appearance in the Western Conference finals since 2016.

The Oklahoma City Thunder took a 3-2 series lead over the Denver Nuggets with a thrilling 112-105 win in Game 5 of their second-round NBA playoff series on Tuesday night. It's the first lead in the series for the Thunder, the West's No. 1 seed who now will have the chance to win the series in Game 6 in Denver on Thursday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder survived another thriller in a 112-105 Game 5 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. They now hold a 3-2 lead in their Round 2 NBA playoffs series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 31 points. Lu Dort scored an important 12 points. Jalen Williams had 18 points and nine rebounds.

The NBA is down to four second-round playoff series, but two stick out for reasons other than the intriguing on-court matchups. There have been few complaints about the scheduling of the Indiana Pacers-Cleveland Cavaliers or New York Knicks-Boston Celtics series,