Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 factors to guide the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder to a 125-93 residence win over the Denver Nuggets in Sport 7 of their Western Convention second-round sequence Sunday.
The Thunder superior to the Western Convention Finals for the primary time since 2016. Oklahoma Metropolis opens the convention finals towards the Minnesota Timberwolves at residence on Tuesday.
After scoring simply six factors in Thursday’s loss, Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams bounced again in a giant manner, pouring in 24 factors on 10-of-17 capturing. Gilgeous-Alexander was 12 of 19 from the ground with three steals and no turnovers.
Early on, it appeared just like the Nuggets have been carrying over the momentum from their Sport 6 win. Denver led by double digits with a minute left within the first quarter earlier than the Thunder ripped off a 13-0 run spanning the primary and second quarters to take the lead for the primary time.
The Thunder grabbed the lead for good on Luguentz Dort’s 3-pointer with 7:20 left within the first half. Oklahoma Metropolis closed the primary half on an 18-5 run, together with back-to-back Denver turnovers that led to Williams buckets on the different finish and helped the Thunder construct a 60-46 lead at halftime.
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Then the Thunder put the sport on ice with a 37-point third quarter, with 10 of these factors coming off the Nuggets’ 5 turnovers. Oklahoma Metropolis led by as many as 43 factors within the fourth quarter.
Denver was additionally 3 of 14 from past the arc within the third quarter and completed the sport simply 10 of 45 on 3-pointers.
A giant a part of the Thunder’s success was because of Alex Caruso’s protection. Regardless of a substantial dimension deficit, Caruso spent loads of time on Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who typically discovered it tough to seek out pictures towards Oklahoma Metropolis’s top-ranked protection.
Jokic scored 20 factors on 5-of-9 capturing, whereas Caruso completed with a game-best plus-40 plus/minus score. The Thunder scored 37 factors off Denver’s 23 turnovers, whereas giving the ball up simply 10 instances themselves.
Nuggets ahead Aaron Gordon, who suffered a hamstring harm late in Sport 6 and was a game-time determination, performed greater than 24 minutes, ending with eight factors and 11 rebounds.