Thunder Go Nuclear on Nuggets, Advance to Western Conference Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the Denver Nuggets at home in Game 7 on Sunday with a 125-93 victory to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016. 

In a game where the Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon was playing with a Grade 2 hamstring strain that the Thunder were not taking advantage of early (they were not attacking Gordon defensively, instead bailing out the Nuggets with 3-point attempts), the Thunder eventually did enough in transition to run the Nuggets out of the proverbial gym. 

The Nuggets got off to a strong start, getting inside early to Nikola Jokic and hiding Gordon on defense so he would not be exposed. To his credit, Gordon had 7 rebounds early on (11 for the game, 8 points in 25 minutes), and the Nuggets led 18-8 at one point in the opening quarter and 26-21 at its conclusion. 

In the second, the Thunder responded with eight consecutive points that extended to a 13-0 run from 1:03 remaining in the first quarter to 10:27 remaining in the second quarter. Isaiah Hartenstein, playing a solid game early with 6 points and 5 rebounds, collected his second foul with 8:47 remaining in the half and headed to the bench. 

The Thunder did what they did in previous games, employing Alex Caruso (11 points, 3 steals, 3 assists, 5-for-7 shooting in 26 minutes) as a pest on Jokic, with Caruso doing a good job of using his positioning to at least make things tough on Jokic. 

Late in the quarter, up 44-41, the Thunder widened the gap with a sequence that included a Jalen Williams triple and a Williams dunk, part of a 7-0 Thunder run to get their lead up to eight, 49-41. After a Jokic basket, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a triple, making the score 52-43 with 1:13 remaining in the half. Williams then knocked the ball away from Jokic (Denver’s 11th turnover) and dunked at the other end, putting his team up 54-43. Caruso then stole a pass intended for Jokic, and found a trailing Williams for a dunk. Now the score was 56-43 Thunder, and they were in the midst of a 14-2 run in two minutes and 30 seconds. 

A Williams stop-and-pop put the Thunder up 60-46 at the half, with the 24-year-old, 6 foot, 5 inch forward who plays bigger than his size putting up 17 points in the first 24 minutes of play. The Thunder had a 40-20 points in the paint advantage in the first half, were up 10-5 in fast break points, and 12-3 in bench points. 

Oklahoma City continued to roll in the third quarter, getting stops and running in transition. Cason Wallace (7 points, 2 steals, 29 minutes) was particularly impressive off the bench in digging in defensively and hustling. Gilgeous-Alexander, who registered 35 points, 4 assists, 3 steals on 12-for-19 shooting, 3-for-4 from 3-point range, and 8-for-9 from the line, widened the gap to 23, with one of his few 3-pointers connecting with 10:22 on the clock to put the Thunder ahead 69-46. Minutes later, Wallace scored a left-handed transition dunk on Jokic, leading to a timeout as the Thunder led 78-57. Wallace then banked in a corner triple (81-58 Thunder) and moments later stole a high entry pass intended for Jokic and found Caruso on the break for a layup, giving the Thunder an 87-65 lead with 3:14 remaining in the third. It was the Nuggets’ 16th turnover and the 19th and 20th points off turnovers for the Thunder. 

With 2:13 remaining in the third, the Thunder took their largest lead, 24 points, when Williams found Caruso in transition for a picturesque right-hand slam. An Aaron Wiggins corner triple made the advantage 25, at 94-69. On a quick sequence, the Thunder were running in transition and Chet Holmgren elevated for a layup. Trailing the play was Russell Westbrook, who leapt and seemed to get a clean, ferocious block from behind. However, replay showed that Westbrook connected with the body of Holmgren, resulting in the foul and free-throws. Holmgren made the two free-throws, and later made one-of-two free-throws at the end of the quarter after being fouled with 0.4 seconds to go. Holmgren ended the quarter with 13 points and 10 rebounds. With his total performance of 13 points and 11 rebounds (4-for-9 shooting, 5-for-6 from the line, 29 minutes), Holmgren posted his sixth playoff double-double of this postseason, tying Westbrook for the most by a Thunder player since 2019.  

Gilgeous-Alexander hit a calm and cool baseline jump shot with 10:33 remaining in the game which gave the Thunder a 102-72 lead, followed by a Caruso steal of Jokic and a behind the back pass to Gilgeous-Alexander for a dunk, the latter play putting the Thunder up by 32, 106-74. With 9:36 to go in the fourth, David Adelman mercifully threw in the towel and emptied the Nugget bench.

After trailing 26-21 after the first quarter, the Thunder outscored the Nuggets 76-46 over the second and third quarters. Williams, in 33 minutes, complemented Gilgeous-Alexander with 24 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds on 10-for-17 shooting. Hartenstein in 17 minutes put up 10 points and 7 rebounds. With his 35 points, Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his seventh game this postseason of 30+ points, the most of these 2025 playoffs.

Overall, the Thunder outshot the Nuggets 49.0% to 39.3%, and made 12 triples (39 attempts) to the Nuggets’ 10 (45 attempts). The Thunder made 19-of-24 from the line, the Nuggets 17-of-22. Though the Nuggets outrebounded the Thunder 47-44, they committed 22 turnovers to the Thunder’s nine. Jokic took nine shots in 37 minutes, making five, and was 9-for-11 from the line and finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. Christian Braun, who excelled throughout the playoffs as a defensive player and as a threat in transition, finished with 19 points in the game on 7-for-14 shooting. Jamal Murray was 6-for-16 (1-for-8 from deep) for 13 points, and Michael Porter Jr. was 3-for-8 (0-for-4 from deep) for 6 points. Both had given valiant efforts, Murray fighting an illness and Porter Jr. playing with a wrapped shoulder for most of the playoffs. 

And so the Thunder spring into the Western Conference Finals, a 68-win team set to battle a 49-win Minnesota Timberwolves’ team with a similar makeup of youthful energy, perimeter defense, and all-world scoring at the guard spot. Both teams knocked off veteran teams to get to this stage, which might be the first signal of a new youth movement in the NBA. The other conference final of course with the Knicks and Pacers sees a well-coached, small market team with young starpower and hunger go up against another well-coached team in the biggest market that there is with starpower and hunger - the hunger of a starving fan base that has not won a championship in 52 years. 

Both Conference Finals series’ will be appointment viewing.