Oklahoma City – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up 35 points, with Jalen Williams contributing 24, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a decisive 125-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 on Sunday. Their win secures a place in the Western Conference Finals.
As the top seed, the Thunder will face the Minnesota Timberwolves, the sixth seed, starting Tuesday.
This marks Oklahoma City’s first appearance in the conference finals since 2016.
In the regular season, Oklahoma City recorded an impressive 68 wins, the most in the league.
Last year, the Thunder reached the conference semi-finals only to lose to Dallas, despite entering as the top seed.
This time, they managed to overcome a formidable Denver squad led by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who won the NBA championship in 2023 and defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in a tough seven-game series earlier in the playoffs.
Jokic had a respectable performance on Sunday, tallying 20 points, along with nine rebounds and seven assists. Aaron Gordon, another key player for Denver, struggled with a tight left hamstring but still managed to score 8 points and grab 11 rebounds in 25 minutes of play.
Initially, the Thunder trailed by 11 points at the end of the first quarter, but quickly regained control, outscoring Denver 39-20 in the second period to take a 60-46 lead into halftime.
Gordon was called for a Flagrant-1 foul early in the third quarter for an elbow to the face of a Thunder player.
Gilgeous-Alexander sank both free throws, and Williams followed up with a jumper that extended Oklahoma City’s lead to 66-46.
A fast break by Cason Wallace resulted in a strong finish over Jokic, bringing the score to 78-57 and igniting the crowd. By the close of the third quarter, Oklahoma City was ahead 97-72.
