Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday scored 35 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder thrashed the Denver Nuggets 125-93 to book their place in the NBA Western Conference Finals.
After a back-and-forth series with little to choose between the two teams, top seeds the Thunder asserted their dominance in a one-sided game seven to seal a 4-3 series victory.
The win sends Oklahoma City into a showdown with Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves for a place in next month’s NBA Finals, with Game 1 set for today.
Photo: AP
“It feels good,” point guard Gilgeous-Alexander said after the win. “Obviously our ultimate goal isn’t just the Western Conference Finals, but we’ve got to go through there to get there. We put it together tonight and now we’ve got four games to go get against a really good team in the Timberwolves and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Gilgeous-Alexander, who is vying with Denver’s Nikola Jokic for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, was backed by 24 points from Jalen Williams.
The Nuggets scoring was led by Jokic with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Christian Braun added 19 and Jamal Murray 13.
Denver were left counting the cost of an error-strewn performance that saw them cough up 23 turnovers which the Thunder’s livewire offense ruthlessly converted into 37 points.
“The turnovers were a huge issue in this game, obviously,” Denver interim head coach David Adelman said. “Sometimes turnovers as a number don’t matter, but 16 steals off live ball turnovers — that’s 37 points off your mistakes. You’re not going to win a playoff game like that.”
Denver had produced a sensational performance on Friday to tie the series at 3-3 and set up Sunday’s decisive Game 7 in Oklahoma City.
The Nuggets started brightly, seizing an early 11-point lead midway through the first quarter and taking a five-point cushion into the second quarter at 26-21, but the game flipped decisively in the second quarter as Oklahoma City unleashed the full force of their potent offense, erupting for 39 points to Denver’s 20.
Thunder forward Jalen Williams did the damage for the home team, scoring 17 points in the second quarter from 8-of-11 shooting to send Oklahoma City into halftime with a 60-46 lead.
Oklahoma City picked up where they left off in the second quarter when the third quarter got underway, outscoring Denver 37-26 to move into an unassailable lead.
“We wanted to keep the pressure on coming out of the half, as we haven’t been great in the third quarter this series,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We wanted to make that emphasis and come out stronger. We did so.”
The Thunder kept the points flowing into the fourth, and led by a massive margin of 43 points at 125-82 with just under four minutes remaining before coasting home.
Adelman was left bemoaning his team’s failure to build on their bright start to the first quarter when they went 11 points clear.
“That was our opportunity to really take control of the game, but they kept bringing new people in and they overwhelmed us,” Adelman said. “I’m crushed for the guys in there. The effort they gave to get into this position and to have the opportunity today. To have the start that we wanted and then for it to go sideways so quickly ... it’s crushing.”
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