The Oklahoma City Thunder did what they needed to do.
They beat the Denver Nuggets 125-93 in Game 7 on Sunday, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2016 and for the fifth time since the franchise moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008.
The top-seeded Thunder will play the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves for a spot in the NBA Finals, starting with Game 1 on Tuesday in Oklahoma City (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
OKC broke open a close game in the second quarter, finishing the final 3:11 on an 18-5 run for a 60-46 halftime lead. The Thunder’s dominance continued in the third quarter, leading 72-50 and 96-69. The margin grew to 106-74 early in the fourth, and Nuggets interim coach David Adelman pulled his starters, including Aaron Gordon who played with a strained left hamstring he sustained in Game 6.
The Thunder sat their starters when MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 3-pointer made it 114-76 with 7:47 remaining in the game.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 35 points and added four assists, three rebounds and three steals, and All-Star forward Jalen Williams had 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Gordon delivered a valiant effort basically on one leg. He had eight points and 11 rebounds, but he attempted just four shots and wasn’t close to 100%.
Nuggets MVP finalist Nikola Jokic finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Christian Braun scored 19 points.
Read what you missed and see highlights from Sunday’s Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7:
Game 7 highlights: Thunder 125, Nuggets 93
Final: Thunder 125, Nuggets 93
Nuggets pull starters, empty bench down 32
Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman threw in the towel with 9:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. With the Nuggets trailing 106-74, Adelman emptied his bench and pulled his starters from the game. Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneau followed suit and pulled his starters with 7:40 remaining in the game while up 38 points.
End of Q3: Thunder 97, Nuggets 72
The Thunder are firing on all cylinders and are one quarter away from the team’s first Western Conference Finals since 2016. The Thunder led by as many as 27 points and have a 25-point heading into the fourth quarter.
Four of Oklahoma City’s starters are in double figures, led by 23 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is shooting 7-of-14 from the field and 2-of-3 from three. Chet Holmgren already has a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Thunder recorded 12 steals and three blocks and scored 22 points off 17 Denver turnovers. Oklahoma City is also winning the fast break (20-9) and points in the paint (58-32) battle by a wide margin.
Nikola Jokic is on triple-double with with 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Jamal Murray has 11 points, shooting 5-of-15 from the field and 1-of-8 from three.
Watch: Cason Wallace dunks on Nikola Jokic
Wallace posterized the three-time MVP. He showed off his hops by slamming down a dunk on Jokic to put the Thunder up 78-57with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter.
Turnovers are a problem for Nuggets, again
Just like it was in Game 6, turnovers have also become an issue for the Denver Nuggets in Game 7.
During Sunday’s Western Conference semifinal elimination game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver committed 12 turnovers in the first half, which helped spark the Thunder on massive runs.
Oklahoma City outscored the Nuggets by 19 points in the second quarter to take a 14-point lead into halftime, though the Thunder actually went on an extended 44-20 run going back to the one-minute mark of the first quarter.
Turnovers have been the difference. The Thunder are swarming and deflecting the ball, particularly when the Nuggets push it into the low post. The double — and sometimes triple — teams have led to poked balls that the Thunder have used for breakaway buckets.
The Thunder have scored 12 points off turnovers, while the Nuggets haven’t scored a single point off of the 3 Oklahoma City turnovers. The Thunder recorded 8 steals in the first half; the Nuggets swiped the ball just 3 times, by comparison.
Thunder forward Jalen Williams, who scored 17 points in the first half on 8-of-12 shooting, has been the main beneficiary of the steals, getting a trio of easy transition layups and dunks off of steals.
Halftime: Thunder 60, Nuggets 46
The Thunder went on an 18-5 run to close the first half with a 14-point lead over the Nuggets, marking their largest of the game, 60-46. Turnovers have been costly for the Nuggets and Oklahoma City has capitalized. Denver has turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, surrendering 12 points as a result.
After struggling in Game 6 with only six points, Jalen Williams came alive in the second quarter and scored 17 points, in addition to three assists and one steal. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 12 points. The Thunder have doubled the Nuggets in points in the paint (40-20) and fast-break points (5-10).
Nikola Jokic has 17 points and six rebounds for the Nuggets, while Christian Braun has 12 points. Jamal Murray has been quiet so far with only four points in the seventh Game 7 of his career. Aaron Gordon, playing with a strained left hamstring, has eight points and eight rebounds.
End of Q1: Denver 26, Thunder 21
The Nuggets led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, but the Thunder closed the quarter on a 11-5 run to come within five points of Denver. Christian Braun has a team-high nine points. Nikola Jokic added seven points, four rebounds and three assists. Aaron Gordon, who is visibly limping as he plays through a hamstring strain, collected five rebounds and scored three points.
Oklahoma City is shooting 38.5% from the field, compared to 45.0% for Denver. Chet Holmgren has a team-high six points and four rebounds.
What time is Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7?
Game 7 of the Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder series will tip off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
How to watch Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7: TV, stream
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City
- TV: ABC
- Stream: Sling TV, YouTube TV, Fubo (free trial)
Watch Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7 on Fubo
Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon has strained hamstring, will start
Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon will try to play with a strained left hamstring against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinals series Sunday.
Gordon has been listed as questionable but participated in pregame warmups, and the Nuggets then upgraded his status to available and put him in the starting lineup.
Gordon didn’t do any strenuous jumping or running during his warmup. He sustained a left hamstring strain chasing a loose ball late in the Nuggets’ 119-107 Game 6 victory against the Thunder. It won’t take long to see what Gordon can provide.
Nuggets starting lineup today
Thunder starters for Game 7
Isaiah Hartenstein stats
Hartenstein averaged career-highs in points (11.2), rebounds (10.7) and assists (3.8) in 57 regular season games this year. He’s averaging 11.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists through six games of the conference semifinals vs. Denver.
Michael Porter Jr. stats
In 77 games in the regular season, Porter averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists. However, Porter has struggled in the conference semifinals, averaging only 7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in six games against the Thunder while playing with an injured shoulder.
Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 7 predictions
With Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon playing with a hamstring strain, Denver’s chances to upset the No. 1 seed Thunder on the road become far more precarious.
Lorenzo Reyes: Oklahoma City, 107-102
Heather Tucker: Denver, 108-105
Jeff Zillgitt: Oklahoma City, 110-95
Nuggets vs. Thunder NBA playoff schedule, results
(Oklahoma City wins series 4-3)
- Game 1: Nuggets 121, Thunder 119
- Game 2: Thunder 149, Nuggets 106
- Game 3: Nuggets 113, Thunder 104 (OT)
- Game 4: Thunder 92, Nuggets 87
- Game 5: Thunder 112, Nuggets 105
- Game 6: Nuggets 119, Thunder 107
- Game 7: Thunder 125, Nuggets 93
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.