To keep their season alive, the Nuggets must flip the script from a year ago.

Last season, Denver found itself in an enviable position — up 3-2 in the second round against the Timberwolves after an impressive Game 5 win. Everyone remembers what happened next.

Now, it’s on Nikola Jokic and company to pull off a series turnaround and beat the top-seeded Thunder two straight times to reach the Western Conference finals.

It starts with Game 6 Thursday (6:30 p.m. ESPN) at Ball Arena. Here are five storylines to watch:

The fourth-quarter flip

Three games into the series, it was fair to wonder if the Nuggets were too experienced and too tough for the Thunder to handle in close games. It felt like Oklahoma City might have to win four games by double digits to get past the 2023 champs. But the young Thunder have changed the narrative in a matter of days.

After leading by six heading into the fourth quarter of Game 4 and by eight after three quarters of Game 5, the Nuggets fell apart late. OKC has adjusted and figured out ways to score in the clutch after Denver’s defense late won Games 1 and 3. Now, it’s on Jokic and his teammates to find the magic they had early in the series in what figures to be a taut Game 6.

Making OKC role players hit shots

Luguentz Dort was teetering on the edge of not being playable for the Thunder before he knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the span of about 2 minutes in the fourth quarter Tuesday. Dort’s barrage helped turn a nine-point Nuggets lead into a two-point Denver edge. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points in Game 5), Jalen Williams (18) and Chet Holmgren (14) having found their stride, it may be best for the Nuggets to focus all of their energy in limiting OKC’s top three players and force the likes of Dort, Alex Caruso and others to beat them with open looks on the perimeter.

Jamal Murray’s impact

Jokic has long been the most impactful member of the Nuggets (both in the playoffs and the regular season) when it comes to on-off splits. But this postseason, it’s actually Jamal Murray whose absence is being felt the most in his limited time on the bench.

Through 12 playoff games, Murray has the best net rating on the Nuggets (plus-1.4), while Jokic’s is actually only fourth-best on the team and in the negatives (minus-0.5). There was a brief “Murray flurry” in the third quarter of Game 5 that helped stretch Denver’s lead to double digits, but he went just 1-for-6 from the field in the fourth quarter and couldn’t make enough shots to help the Nuggets close out what would have been a massive road win.

The Nuggets’ fifth-man conundrum

In round one against the Clippers, one of Russell Westbrook or Michael Porter Jr. had it going in any given game. That made David Adelman’s life easy as he tried to find the fifth player to close the game around Jokic, Murray, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun.

But with both Porter Jr. and Westbrook struggling against the Thunder, that has become a glaring issue. In Game 5, the fifth guy didn’t matter; neither made an impact. Porter and Westbrook were a combined 2-for-14 from the field and 0-for-8 from 3-point range. Just one of them bouncing back and bringing a positive impact would do wonders for the Nuggets’ late-game offense.

Julian Strawther’s fresh legs

Julian Strawther’s playoff career to date has been almost exclusively limited to garbage-time minutes at the end of blowouts. But Adelman played him nearly 10 minutes in Game 5, a career-high for a competitive playoff game for Strawther and he made an impact. He knocked down a 3-pointer in the first half when it seemed like only Jokic could, grabbed a few rebounds and even stole the ball away from Dort in a period where the Nuggets were in control. At this point of the series, Strawther’s fresh legs could be what Denver needs to stay alive. His ability to get hot and make a couple 3-pointers in succession would make a big difference in Game 6.