For the first time since 2015, the Oklahoma City Thunder are heading to the Western Conference finals.
The Thunder pulled to a strong win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, locking up Game 7 with a 125-93 win in Oklahoma City. The Nuggets had forced a Game 7 after a key win in Denver on Thursday, but OKC dominated Denver across the board to pick up the series win and advance to the next round.
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Although the Nuggets took an early lead in the first quarter, but the Thunder’s surging defense led Oklahoma City to take the lead in the second. The Thunder struggled with shooting early on — the team didn’t score its first three-pointer until the final minute of the first quarter — but a 18-5 run to end the second quarter gave OKC a 60-46 lead heading into halftime.
From there, Oklahoma City kept building on the lead, pulling well ahead and securing the 32-point win.
All season, the Thunder have been the best team in the league — and they certainly looked that way on Sunday. Oklahoma City outpaced Denver in nearly every stat: The Thunder had a better shooting percentage, more assists, more three-pointers. Though the Nuggets picked up more rebounds (47 vs 44), they also had a whopping 22 turnovers to Oklahoma City’s nine, with the Thunder picking up a shocking 16 steals.
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Alex Caruso got particular props from the crowd for the role that his defensive chaos played in the win; he ended with 11 points and three steals.
The loss ends a fraught season for the Nuggets, who found themselves in an impossible situation after the organization fired the coach and general manager two weeks before the playoffs.
That’s not to say that Denver didn’t put up a fight on Sunday: Nikola Jokić nearly put up a triple-double, with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Christian Braun had 19 points, getting 12 of those in the first half alone. Aaron Gordon, who was initially not expected to play with a Grade II hamstring strain, played through the pain and put up eight points and 11 rebounds.
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But with OKC so far ahead, the Nuggets’ spark seemed to wither. Halfway through the fourth quarter, interim coach David Adelman benched his starters and let the Thunder benchwarmers finish the job.
The Thunder, meanwhile, will try to keep things rolling, despite a quick turnaround. Oklahoma City will host the Minnesota Timberwolves for the Western Conference finals, with Game 1 taking place on Tuesday.