At least for one night, Calvin Booth and his long-term master plan for the Denver Nuggets looked pretty good. They pulled out a massive win with their season on the line Thursday night, beating the [Thunder 119-107 to force a do-or-die Game 7 on Sunday night.](https://nugglove.com/jamal-murray-reaffirms-label-nuggets-fans-continue-bestow-upon-him)
Denver was able to get the big Game 6 win at home for a variety of reasons, but one of the biggest was the play of the young players, stepping up in a big way, namely Christian Braun and Julian Strawther.
Christian Braun with best playoff game of career
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Braun has been a locked-in starter and has played mostly well in these playoffs. His constant pace and cutting give the team a nice boost in transition, and his defense has been excellent. But on Thursday night, he took it to another level, showing more aggression on offense and shooting the ball confidently from three.
He finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, shooting 8/14 and 3/6 from three-point range. He was doing a bit of everything and playing with the type of swagger and aggression that the team desperately needs.
Julian Strawther with stunning breakout performance
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But even more surprising than Braun’s incredible game was the breakout of Julian Strawther. Strawther has been an afterthought, playing sparingly - if at all - off the team’s bench during this playoff run.
However, in Game 6, David Adelman dusted off Strawther, gave him a real chance, and he came through in a big way. [Strawther had the best game of his playoff career by far](https://nugglove.com/julian-strawther-heals-nuggets-self-inflicted-season-saving-statement), finishing with 15 points in 19 minutes on 4/8 shooting, and he drilled 3/4 huge threes.
More impressively, he scored all of his points in the final 15 minutes of the game, having multiple short stretches where he actually took over and carried the offense. The coaching staff clearly took notice, too, as they trusted Julian to play 10 minutes in the fourth quarter and earned closing minutes.
Reason for optimism with Nuggets’ young core
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We’ll see if any of this is sustainable, and we all know it’s harder for role players to show up on the road, but it’s an incredible sign either way. These are critical moments for a couple of young guys, who should factor prominently into the team’s future.
Even if we don’t get a repeat performance in Game 7, this is very promising going forward and shows there is hope indeed for this new wave of young players around Nikola Jokic. Braun has already proven to be a solid starting-level player, Strawther showed major chops as a playoff scorer, and Peyton Watson even had some big moments, including a huge chasedown block down the stretch.
Injured rookie DaRon Holmes II still lies in wait, and if Denver can get anything at all from guys like Jalen Pickett, Zeke Nnaji, or any of the other young players on the team, there is real hope for the future of this team.