In Game 7 of their Western Conference second-round NBA playoff series, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 125-93 at home. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 35 points.
For the first time since 2016, the Thunder advanced to the Western Conference finals. On Tuesday, they play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the conference championship game.
Jalen Williams, a Thunder All-Star, scored just six points in Thursday’s Game 7 and scored 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting. With three steals and no turnovers, Gilgeous-Alexander shot 12 of 19 from the floor.
Gilgeous-Alexander praised “He]Williams” as amazing. I am certain that he would not have played the way he did last year. It’s a really proud moment to see him make that leap forward.
The Nuggets initially appeared to be retaining the momentum from their Game 6 victory. With one minute left in the first quarter, the Thunder jumped out to a 13-0 run that covered both the first and second innings to take the first-ever lead.
With 7 minutes and 20 seconds left in the first half, Luguentz Dort’s 3-pointer gave the Thunder the lead for good. The Thunder put up a 60-46 lead at halftime thanks to back-to-back Nuggets turnovers that helped them end the first half on an 18-5 run.
Then the Thunder added 37 points in the third quarter, with the Nuggets making five of those turnovers. In the fourth quarter, the Thunder had a lead of up to 43 points.
The Nuggets finished the game with just 10 of 45 3-pointers, including 3 of 14 from beyond the arc in the third quarter.
It was difficult for interim Nuggets coach David Adelman to get the start we wanted and then watch it go sideways so quickly. It’s easy to forget that when the game got back to its early stages, they kept introducing new players, which did overwhelm us.
Alex Caruso’s defense was a key factor in the Thunder’s success. Despite having a significant deficit, Caruso spent a lot of time on Nikola Jokic, the star quarterback for the Nuggets, who frequently struggled to find shots against Oklahoma City’s top-ranked defense.
Jokic scored 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and Caruso earned the game’s best plus/minus of 40.
Regarding Caruso’s efforts, the volume of it today was a result of how effective it was, but looking at it was a priority going forward, according to Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. He did an outstanding job on his own.
Denver forced just 10 turnovers, giving the Thunder just 10 points, compared to Denver’s 37.
Aaron Gordon, a game-time decision and late in Game 6, played more than 24 minutes and recorded eight points and 11 rebounds.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply