As if we haven’t been served enough chaos, tension and stagecraft, these NBA Playoffs keep giving us the good stuff. There have been buzzer-beaters, fourth-quarter comebacks and, on Sunday, a Game 7 between the league’s two MVP candidates.
We’ve been told that thunder only happens when it’s raining. Let’s see what Sunday’s skies hold for an eager audience.
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How to watch Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder Game 7
This game will also be streamed on ESPN+.
Nuggets at Thunder Game 7
This series between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder has been all over the place in the very best way. Game 2 was won with 149 points, but 92 was enough to take Game 4.
The Thunder are favored in this elimination spot, understandable given home-court advantage and a dominant 68-win regular season. Their smart, aggressive defense disorients even the smoothest spacing and the most skillful shooters. Still, go against the Nuggets’ title-tested core at your own risk.
Both offenses have slowed down after those hectic first matchups in Oklahoma City. Across the last four outings, Denver is scoring 106 points per game, and OKC is averaging 102. Neither team has found consistency behind the arc, and the Nuggets’ edge on the offensive glass has been nullified by the Thunder’s dominant free-throw rate.
Major contributors have precipitously dipped across this series. Lu Dort and Jalen Williams are both below 35 percent from the field. Christian Braun has slumped to 39 percent, while Russell Westbrook is down to 35.6 and Michael Porter Jr. just 31.4.
Jokić is a singular talent, but he looked flustered early — 21 turnovers in the first three games, including an 8-for-25 clunker in Game 3. He’s since flipped energies — five turnovers combined in Games 4-6, and a graceful 9-for-14 effort to force Sunday’s Game 7.
Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon each added seven assists Thursday, and Braun mounted his much-needed bounce-back at the edge of the cliff. Oh, and, The Julian Strawther Game!
Gordon suffered a hamstring injury on Thursday and his status for Sunday is unknown.
Oklahoma City gets a second chance to close out Denver and meaningfully cash in on its bullish 2024-25 run. During the regular season, it set new watermarks for outscoring its opponents, and won an NBA-record 40 games by at least 15 points. Of course, those numbers will be all but washed away if the Thunder fail to reach the Western Conference finals.
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Williams and Dort are going through it, but the frontcourt pairing of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein has been fun to watch. Holmgren shot 6-for-9 in Game 5 and 8-for-14 in Game 6, and he’s been consistent on the boards. He and Hartenstein have the team’s best defensive ratings in the series, and they’ve combined to make Jokić look somewhat terrestrial.
The young Thunder will deploy the two-big mix on Jokić, throttle passing lanes and dare supporting Nuggets to take over. Williams playing somewhere around his All-Star level would certainly help, but fates should largely fall into the dexterous hands of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Come Sunday, he’ll try to attack from the jump, get to the foul line and break Denver’s zone defense (which has stunted OKC throughout the series). The 26-year-old was last year’s MVP runner-up and this year’s presumed winner. He also has a scoring title and three consecutive First-Team All-NBA honors, but that’s all based on what happens between October and April. Basketball’s true mountain climbers create their own standalone moments from May molding.
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On this day (May 18) in NBA Playoffs history
2003 — Nets 76, Pistons 74: It was a particularly tense finish to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Jason Kidd pounded down the last possession, then swished a 20-foot game-winner over both Chauncey Billups and Mehmet Okur.
Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić: Garrett Ellwood / NBAE via Getty Images)
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