SGA, Thunder Eliminate Jokic, Nuggets in G7 as NBA Fans Hype WCF Matchup vs. Wolves
After letting their youth and inexperience get the better of them in last year's playoffs, the Oklahoma City Thunder showed their immense growth and maturation with a dominant showing on Sunday.
The Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 125-93 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals, avenging last year's loss in the same round. They will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first Western Conference Finals appearance since 2016, Kevin Durant's last season with the franchise.
What started out as a tightly-contested matchup quickly turned into a storm that the Nuggets struggled to get through. It was lightning strike after lightning strike as the Thunder turned a one-point lead with three minutes left in the second quarter to a 20-point leas less than a minute into the third quarter.
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Oklahoma City star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put a stamp on his MVP battle with Denver star center Nikola Jokic, dropping a game-high 35 points on 12-of-19 shooting to lead the way. After being held to six points in Game 6, Thunder forward Jalen Williams bounced back with 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
Jokic led the Nuggets with 20 points while adding nine rebounds and seven assists. He put together an incredible postseason despite the loss, leading all players in multiple categories, including points, rebounds and assists:
Jamal Murray had 19 points, and Aaron Gordon, who was playing through a Grade 2 hamstring strain, had eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
But the night belonged to the Thunder, as NBA fans on social media are already looking ahead to their exciting conference finals matchup against the Timberwolves:
Oklahoma City vs. Minnesota will be a battle between two of the biggest young stars in the league, with Gilgeous-Alexander going up against Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards. The two teams split the regular-season series 2-2.
The Thunder will welcome the Timberwolves to Paycom Center for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday.
