Thunder blowout Nuggets 125-93, advance to WCF

    Written by: William Petersen •

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    Picture via NBA X account

    A pivotal Game 7 for the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder came down to nothing close to a nailbiter as the Thunder blew out the Nuggets 125-93 in Oklahoma City Sunday night. The Thunder’s 32-point win stemmed from OKC clamping down defensively on a beaten down Nuggets group, forcing 22 turnovers off 16 steals, the most steals by a team in a Game 7 since 1977. Alex Caruso showed his two-way ability with three steals while MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added three of his own. The Nuggets came into Game 7 off an impressive Game 6 win at home but seemed down and out almost from the jump after learning that starting power forward Aaron Gordon was diagnosed with a Grade 2 Hamstring strain which was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charnia. Gordon’s availability was in doubt leading up to the game but ended up starting for the Nuggets even though he was visibly in pain. Although Gordon was nowhere near 100 percent, the rest of the Nuggets did not do themselves any favors after giving up a five-point first quarter lead to find themselves down 14 at the break. OKC outscored the Nuggets 39-20 in the second quarter and drove the game home from there.

    Oklahoma City has been the best defensive team in the NBA all season and showed how stout they could be in this Game 7, smothering three-time MVP Nikola Jokic whenever he got the ball. With Jokic occupied every time the Nuggets got it in the offensive end, the Nuggets supporting cast continued to struggle shooting the ball, as they have all series, which ultimately dug their grave early after giving up multiple runs in the second and third quarters to solidify the end of their season. Jokic finished with a team high 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 1-for-2 from three while an injured Aaron Gordon put up eight points but an eye-popping 11 rebounds on basically one leg. Russell Westbrook continued to struggle against the Thunder, finishing with six points and a +/- of -34 in the building where he started his NBA career. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr continued to struggle shooting the three, combining for one made three on 12 total attempts between the two. The only other Nugget besides Jokic that played respectable was Christian Braun who finished with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 2-for-9 from beyond the arc. Denver shot 39.9% from the field in addition to a lackluster 22.2% from three.

    Denver now finds themselves in the biggest offseason in the last 10 years as this club needs to find a way to build out their bench with more depth. The caveat to finding this much needed depth is the Nuggets do not have a first round draft pick in the 2025 NBA Draft after trading away their pick in 2021 to the Orlando Magic en route to acquiring Aaron Gordon. Even though this was a tough way to end their season, the Nuggets should hold their heads high after firing Head Coach Michael Malone three days before the start of the playoffs while still managing to make it to the Western Conference Semifinals.

    Oklahoma City continues to look like a team of destiny this season after holding off a Denver Nuggets team that beat them twice in the regular season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander solidified once again why he will win his first MVP after finishing with a game high 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting, 2-for-5 from three. SGA took over in the second half and helped dominate a Nuggets team that could not match the efficient shooting of the Thunder who shot 49% from the field and 30.8% from three. The Thunder’s defense set the tone for OKC, forcing turnovers that led to easy transition baskets and found the Nuggets chasing their tails after the first quarter. Jalen Williams bounced back after having a tough series scoring against Denver, dropping 24 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists on 10-for-17 shooting, 2-for-5 from beyond the arc. Alex Caruso made a huge impact off the bench, being one of the primary defenders on Jokic and had his hands in nearly every passing lane contributing to Denver’s 22 turnovers. It is remarkable that Denver was able to take this Thunder squad to seven games but today exemplified who the better team was regardless of the injuries that plagued the Nuggets.

    OKC now shifts its focus to the Minnesota Timberwolves who come to town on Tuesday night to start the Western Conference Finals, their first appearance since 2016. OKC and Minnesota split their regular season series 2-2 which should be a clear indication that this series will at least go to six games if not seven. If SGA continues his dominant offensive performances it will be hard to pick the Timberwolves to beat the one-seeded Thunder in a best of seven series but if anyone can change that narrative, it is rising superstar Anthony Edwards. Look for these two to be battling on offense throughout this series which will be must see TV.

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