Thunder Dominates Nuggets In Game 7 Blowout
In game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, the Oklahoma City Thunder showed the world why they’ve been the best team all year with a 123-95 blowout victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Throughout the highly competitive series, the two squads seemed evenly matched. But in Game 7, the Thunder's young energy overwhelmed the Nuggets, who seemed gassed from the OKC onslaught.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, scored a game-high 35 points and is expected to win his first MVP Award later this week. Jalen Williams rebounded from a lackluster Game 6 performance, chipped in 24 points. Boasting the best defense in the league, the Thunder held the Nuggets to 39.3 percent shooting from the field and forced 23 turnovers.
For the Nuggets, Nikola Jokic had 20 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists for the Nuggets. Aaron Gordon, struggling with a Grade 2 hamstring injury he suffered in game 6, added eight points and 11 rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
Addressing reporters following the game, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault praised his young team's performance under pressure.
"There's not many games where 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," Daigneault said. "To be able to focus through that and perform the way these guys did today was very impressive."
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"We're better now than we were at the beginning of the series, and it's because of them," Daigneault continued. "They pushed us to the limit."
Nuggets interim coach David Adelman shared his thoughts on how the game got away from his squad.
“What he played with today, I don’t know many people that would even attempt to go out there and run up and down,” Adelman said. “And he did it in Game 7 against Oklahoma City on the road. That was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. He was extremely close to not playing. I was surprised.”
The Thunder's next opponent is the Minnesota Timberwolves, whom they will face in the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday, May 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
