Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (R) blocks the ball against Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon in Game 7 of a Western Conference semifinals series Sunday in Oklahoma City. Photo by Gerald Leong/EPA-EFE
Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault credited the Denver Nuggets for improving his team and pushing his players to their limits en route to their first Western Conference finals berth in nine years.
The Thunder, who posted the NBA’s best regular-season record (68-14), trailed 2-1 in the series before winning three of the final four games, including a 125-93 Game 7 blowout Sunday in Oklahoma City.
“We’re better now than we were at the beginning of the series, and it’s because of them,” Daigneault said. “They pushed us to the limit.”
Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded a game-high 35 points in the Game 7 victory. The Thunder outshot the Nuggets 49% to 39.3%. They also forced 22 turnovers, while logging just nine giveaways.
The Thunder edged the Nuggets 64-42 in points in the paint, 27-14 in fast break points, 39-7 in points off turnovers and 37-27 in points off the bench. They led by as many as 43 points.
The Nuggets used a 14-4 run to take control shortly after tip off and led 26-21 through the first 12 minutes. Forward Jalen Williams then poured in 17 points in the second quarter, helping the Thunder outscore their foes 39-20. The Thunder scored the first eight points of the frame to take their first lead of the night and never trailed again.
They went on to outscore the Nuggets 37-26 in the third quarter and 28-21 in the fourth to seal the victory. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points in the second half.
Williams totaled 24 points in the victory. Fellow Thunder forward Chet Holmgren totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic totaled 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the loss.
“I want to acknowledge Denver,” Daigneault said. “They displayed the mettle of a champion. Obviously, they’ve won championships, the core guys. They displayed that in the series. The run to this point and the run they gave us was impressive.
“They are a bunch of zombies. We have the ultimate respect for their team.”
The top-seeded Thunder will meet the No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference finals opener Tuesday in Oklahoma City. Game 1 will tip off at 8:30 p.m. EDT at Paycom Center.
“We play a really good team in the Timberwolves,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ve gotta try to beat them four times before they beat us four times. That’s all I’m worried about and all our team is worried about, just trying to be where our feet are, in the moment, see what’s in front of us and try to attack it and come out on the right end of it.
“I think that’s why we’ve gotten this far in the season and we are going to continue to do so.”
The winner of the Thunder-Timberwolves series will face the New York Knicks or Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals. The Knicks, the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, will host the No. 4 Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals at 8 p.m. Wednesday in New York.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be held June 5.
