Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to defeat the Denver Nuggets 125-93 at home in Game 7 of its second-round NBA playoff series in the Western Conference.
The Thunder made it to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016. They opened the conference finals domestically against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams rebounded vigorously after scoring just six points in Thursday's defeat, hitting 24 points in 17 games on Sunday. Gilgeous-Alexander had 3 steals on the floor without any mistakes.
“He (Williams) is great,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. "He won't play like he did last year today, I know that 100%. It's a very proud moment to see him take this step forward."
Earlier, it seemed like the Nuggets had taken the momentum in their 6th win. They were in double digits with one minute left in the first quarter before the Thunder took the first and first quarter leads 13-0.
The Thunder won the lead on a three-pointer with 7 minutes and 20 seconds left in the first half. They finished the first half with a 18-5 record, which included back-to-back Nuggets turnovers, which led to Williams' bucket at the other end and helped the Thunder lead 60-46 in the halftime.
The Thunder then put the game on the ice with a third quarter of 37 points, with 10 points standing out from the Nuggets’ five turnovers. The Thunder led by up to 43 points in the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets also had three out of 14 out of 14 in the third quarter, completing only 10 of 45 games in three three-pointers.
“Start what we wanted to start and then put it so quickly (it was tough),” said David Adelman, interim coach at Nuggets. “I think we controlled the pace of the game very early on, and now it’s easy to forget… Once they get back to the game, they keep bringing new friends, which overwhelms us.”
A large part of the Thunder’s success is due to Alex Caruso’s defense. Despite a lot of deficits, Caruso spent a lot of time on Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who often find it difficult to shoot against Oklahoma City’s highest-ranked defense.
Jokic scored 20 points on 5 of 9 shots, while Caruso scored the best 40 overs/deducted rating.
"The amount today is due to its effectiveness, but that's to be taken into account," Thunder head coach Mark Digneault said of Caruso's efforts. "He did incredible work alone."
The Thunder scored 37 points in Denver's 23 turnovers while giving the ball 10 times its own.
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon suffered a hamstring injury late in Game 6 and was a game decision, playing over 24 minutes, scoring eight points and 11 rebounds.
"It means a lot, especially the city," Gilgeous-Alexander said as he advanced in the final. "They're great all year round. They're always behind us through good things, through bad things. There's no home court advantage in the league like us."