The Oklahoma City Thunder came out on top in the decisive seventh game against the Denver Nuggets. At one point, the regular season winners were 40 points ahead. Next up for SGA and Co. are the Timberwolves.
It was a clash of opposites: While the Denver Nuggets were playing in their seventh Game 7 since 2019, it would be the first in their era for the young OKC team.
And indeed, the visitors from Denver looked more focused in the opening minutes. Jokic orchestrated an offense that ran like clockwork. The impressive Christian Braun (19 points) repeatedly caused problems for Oklahoma with clever cuts. The latter, in turn, seemed overwhelmed at first and missed numerous (easy) shots. With just under two minutes to go in the first half, Westbrook increased the lead to +10 (14:24) from the corner.
Caruso turned the tide
But the Thunder’s response was not long in coming – and it went by the name of Alex Caruso. Coming off the bench, the defensive specialist set the tone. First, he forced a turnover against Braun, then hit a three-pointer at the other end – reactivating the crowd in the process. The final phase before the break turned into a nightmare for Denver. OKC, spurred on by their frenetic fans, played with tremendous energy, forcing one turnover after another. The home team won the final three minutes of the second quarter 18-5 to pull ahead 60-46.
After the break, the Nuggets continued to fight hard against OKC’s momentum. However, Oklahoma once again did well to keep star player Jokic (only nine shots) away from the basket. To the Serbian’s disappointment, his teammates provided him with little relief. Jamal Murray had an unfortunate evening (13, 6/16), Michael Porter Jr. was a non-factor, as he had been throughout the series (6 points). And the otherwise strong Aaron Gordon was visibly suffering from his thigh injury, which should actually force him to sit out for weeks (8 points).
OKC kept its foot on the gas
At the end of the third quarter, Denver finally ran out of steam. Every attempt to close the double-digit gap was nipped in the bud by a dynamic OKC team, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35, 12/19). In the final quarter, Oklahoma even pulled away to a 43-point lead at one point.
In the third round of the NBA playoffs, Oklahoma will now face Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The first game will take place on Wednesday night (2:30 a.m. German time).
