Thunder’s Alex Caruso says ‘you’re probably like a serial killer’ if you don’t feel anything ahead of Game 7

The Oklahoma City Thunder went 68-14 in the regular season and broke the NBA’s single-season record for point differential. They have a championship-caliber roster, and, entering Sunday’s Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets, they had chance to clinch a berth in the conference finals for the first time since 2016. A win would be a massive moment for the franchise, and a loss would be an enormous disappointment. 

This is why everyone loves a Game 7, but it’s also a lot of pressure. After the game, Thunder guard Alex Caruso told reporters that it is beyond normal to feel the stakes.

“If you don’t feel anything leading up to it, you’re probably like a serial killer, you know?” Caruso said. “You need to be checked out.”

Caruso met the moment on Sunday, coming off the bench and completely changing the game with his defense. He spent a significant amount of time fronting three-time MVP Nikola Jokić and generally doing everything he could do disrupt Denver’s offense. After the 125-93 win, though, Caruso said that he was “a little anxious” as the game approached.

To be clear: Caruso said he was more anxious to get the game started than he was anxious about the possibility of the season ending.

“I was ready to play and I was ready to get to the game,” Caruso said. “There was nothing else to do. We’d played each other six times. We knew what they were going to do, they knew what we were going to do. It’s about going out there and competing and playing.”

Caruso got “a full nine-and-a-half hours” of sleep on Saturday, he said. Then he “woke up, watched some of the PGA Championship and was just ready to get to the game and play ’cause we had been off for two days.”

Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams, on the other hand, said he “didn’t really go to sleep” the night before the game. When a reporter followed up, Williams clarified that he had slept only “a little bit.” He attributed this to being “hyped up to play and excited,” not nerves or pressure.

“You never know how many Game 7s you’re going to get, and it’s an opportunity to be great,” Williams said.

Williams, who had struggled offensively for much of the series, came through with 24 points on 10-for-17 shooting, five rebounds, seven assists and a steal in 33 minutes in Game 7. He scored 17 of his points in the second quarter, helping the Thunder break the game open, and he was typically excellent defensively.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City’s franchise player, did not shy away from discussing his pregame jitters.

“I was nervous, to be honest,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Just knowing what’s on the line — we’ve worked so hard, the whole 82-game season, we’ve all worked so hard in the summer. To know if you don’t bring your ‘A’ game, it could all be over with, all for nothing.”

The nerves were more than just a sign that Gilgeous-Alexander is not a serial killer. In his view, they were a source of inspiration.

“I think that nervousness motivated me and helped me play today, helped me give my all on both ends of the floor,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And I used it to my advantage.”

Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 35 points on 12-for-19 shooting and made three of his four 3-point attempts, adding three rebounds, four assists, three steals, a block and no turnovers in 36 minutes. Early on, though, it wasn’t clear that he and the Thunder would be advancing to the conference finals — eight minutes into the game, the Nuggets had a 21-10 lead and Oklahoma City had shot 5 for 16 from the field (and 0 for 6 from 3-point range). In Gilgeous-Alexander’s view, the Thunder started the game tight.

“The nerves was natural,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We actually shot horrible to start the game, but I knew we were getting really good looks and if we just stuck with it, that we would loosen up and the ball would find the basket.”

Given how the Thunder crushed Denver on Sunday, you might want to think of them the next time you are feeling antsy about a high-stakes situation. It just means you’re not a serial killer, and you can channel that energy into the task at hand.