A place in the Western Conference finals will be at stake on Sunday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets go head to head in a decisive Game 7 at Paycom Center.
This will be the 11th meeting between the two teams this season — they are tied at 5-5 from their 10 clashes so far — and the winner here will be up against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the final following a 4-1 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Match preview
© Imago
The Oklahoma City Thunder failed to seal their first trip to the Western Conference final since 2016 on Thursday night as they fell 119-107 against the Nuggets at Ball Arena.
Having swept the Memphis Grizzlies in round one, OKC lost two of the opening three games versus the Nuggets but quickly bounced back two consecutive victories, including a 92-87 road win on May 11, to take control of the series.
Off the back of a 31-point display in the 112-105 win on Wednesday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down 32 points on an efficient 69% shooting to keep OKC in the fight at Ball Arena, but the Canadian forward had little help across the board as Denver upped the ante in the fourth quarter.
Jalen Williams endured a forgettable night as he tallied six points on 3-of-16 shooting but Chet Holmgren scored 19 points and 11 assists to record his sixth double-double of the playoffs while Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace and Luguentz Dort all finished with 10 points.
Ahead of Sunday's crunch Game 7, it is worth mentioning that Mark Daigneault's men lost back-to-back games on just two occasions this season, the first coming back in November before losing against the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets in April.
The Oklahoma City Thunder now return to Paycom Center, where they have won 14 of their last 17 games — albeit two of their most recent three home defeats have come at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.
After his playoff-best 44 points this season in the seven-point defeat two nights earlier, Nikola Jokic tallied 29 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to fire the Nuggets to a crucial victory and level the series.
Despite being questionable for Game 6, Jamal Murray shook off a late illness as he knocked down 25 points in 42 minutes of action while 24-year-old Christian Braun notched a career playoff-highest 23 points.
Interim coach David Adelman will now look to lead Denver to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2023, having suffered semi-final heartbreak at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves last year.
However, results on enemy territory offer little optimism as the Denver Nuggets have managed just two wins from their six games outside of Ball Arena this postseason, first on March 26, when they beat the Los Angeles Clippers 101-99 at Intuit Dome, 10 days before seeing off OKC 121-119 in Game 1 of the semi-finals.
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Imago
The Oklahoma City Thunder will head into Sunday's Game 7 without the services of Serbian guard Nikola Topic, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season through a severe knee problem.
Aaron Gordon sustained a hamstring injury late in the game on Thursday night before hobbling through the final few minutes of the tie and the veteran forward will be assessed ahead of Sunday's game.
DaRon Holmes has spent the entire campaign on the sidelines after suffering a severe Achilles injury in pre-season and the Nuggets' center will play no part in this weekend's matchup.
Twenty-four-year-old forward Hunter Tyson has missed each of the last four matches since picking up an ankle sprain in Game 2 of the semi-finals and is considered day-to-day ahead of the trip to the Paycom Center.
Oklahoma City Thunder possible starting 5:
Williams, Dort, Hartenstein, Holmgren, Gilgeous-Alexander
Denver Nuggets possible starting 5:
Murray, Braun, Jokic, Gordon, Porter Jr
We say: The Denver Nuggets to win by 3+ points.
Joshua Ojele
