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Oklahoma City Thunder defeat Denver Nuggets, advance to first Conference Finals since 2016.
- Donald Hamilton
- 6 minutes ago
- 3 min read
USA Today
The Oklahoma City Thunder grew up before our eyes on Sunday. They advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016 after a resounding victory over the Denver Nuggets, 125-93—the largest playoff victory in franchise history. The Thunder, undeterred by their loss in Denver in Game 6, responded in a big way. They managed to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. They trailed by 11 early in the first quarter, but took the lead early in the second and never looked back.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander showcased why he’s an MVP finalist with a 35-point performance, four assists, and three steals as the Nuggets had a tough time containing him. His sidekick, Jalen Williams, redeemed himself from his abysmal Game 6 performance, where he scored just 6 points on 3-of-15 shooting. A playoff career low.
Williams finished with 24 points, including 17 in the second quarter, which helped propel the Thunder to outscore the Nuggets 39-20 as the game broke loose down the stretch. The Nuggets were down by just one with 3:10 to go in the second until the Thunder went on an 18-5 run in the final three minutes of the quarter to take a 14-point lead heading into the half.
The Nuggets never recovered.
Denver finished with 23 turnovers in the game and allowed 64 points in the paint, which allowed the Thunder to score 37 points off Denver’s unforced errors. Nikola Jokic finished with a “normal” performance by his standards, with 20 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Jamal Murray and Christian Braun combined for 32 points. Still, it wasn’t enough as the Nuggets' two key starters, Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Michael Porter Jr. (shoulder), were hampered and weren’t as effective as they’d usually be, with Gordon having eight points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes.
“What he played with today, I don’t know many people that would even attempt to go out there and run up and down,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “And he did it in Game 7 against Oklahoma City on the road. That that was one of most incredible things I’ve ever seen. He was extremely close to not playing. I was surprised.”
Everything was going the Thunder’s way, including a Cason Wallace dunk on Jokic that sent the crowd into a raucous frenzy that put the Thunder up 78-57. The Thunder would lead by as much as 43. Their key free agent offseason additions, Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, were critical in matching up against Jokic defensively. They didn’t allow the league’s best player to get any easy looks, making him work tirelessly for every shot.
Caruso was a +40 on the court, leading all bench scorers between both teams with 11, including three assists and three steals that helped the Thunder pile up their avalanche on the Nuggets. Chet Holmgren finished with a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double as he and Hartenstein took turns guarding Jokic throughout the series. The young upstart team handled the pressure well. This was the highest-stakes game this young tandem has played as a core thus far.
“There’s not many games, you wake up in the morning and you know that you’re going to remember the game for the rest of your life, and Game 7 is one of them,” Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “To be able to focus through that and perform the way these guys did today was very impressive.”
Denver played a lot of zone against the Thunder, which will help them prepare against a Minnesota Timberwolves team that likes to implement the same strategy. After coming out on top, Daigneault had high praise for Jokic and the Nuggets.
“We’re better now than we were at the beginning of the series, and it’s because of them,” Daigneault said. “They pushed us to the limit.”
The Oklahoma City Thunder now defeat the Denver Nuggets, advancing to the first Conference Finals in almost a decade. They are now the odds-on favorite to win the title as they face off against the Timberwolves Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. ET in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.