The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets meet on Sunday afternoon for a decisive Game 7 that will wrap up an unforgettable series that has featured more swings than a bad day at the golf course.
After dropping Game 1—a game that EVERYONE knows the Thunder should have won before making far too many late-game mistakes—OKC managed to bounce back with a blowout Game 2 victory. Once again in Game 3, the Thunder melted down late, allowing the Nuggets to force overtime and take a 2-1 lead over OKC. In Games 4 and 5, OKC proved that they had learned some lessons and pulled out some close wins in the clutch to take a 3-2 lead in the series. Denver found some help from unlikely sources in Game 6, and it made all the difference, as they pulled out the win to tie up the series and force Game 7.
If Oklahoma City can play somewhere close to their normal, they should be able to win this game, perhaps even handily. The Thunder has shot below 28% from three in 3 of the last 4 games, and 2 of those ended in losses. Knocking down shots isn’t the only area that needs focus, but it would certainly make other areas like rebounding and slowing down Denver’s transition offense a lot easier.
Historically speaking, the home team has won 79.1% (112-39) of Game 7s, but 10 of the last 15 have gone to the road team. OKC’s crowd is an advantage, but the players still must play the game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs to prove why he’s the MVP, Jalen Williams needs to rebound from his abysmal Game 6 performance with a memorable one, and the league’s most tenacious defense needs to prove how they led the way to a league-best 68 wins.
Game Details
Tip-Off: 2:30 PM CT
Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Television: ABC
Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal
Twitter: Follow @ZacharyLowNBA for live tweets and discussion during the game
Game Notes: Oklahoma City Thunder Official Game Notes, Denver Nuggets Official Game Notes
Projected Starters
Thunder
- PG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- SG: Luguentz Dort
- SF: Jalen Williams
- PF: Chet Holmgren
- C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Nuggets
- PG: Jamal Murray
- SG: Christian Braun
- SF: Michael Porter Jr.
- PF: Aaron Gordon
- C: Nikola Jokic
Injury Report
Thunder
- Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
Nuggets
- Aaron Gordon (strained right hamstring) is QUESTIONABLE.
- DaRon Holmes II (right Achilles tendon repair) is OUT.
- Jamal Murray (illness) is PROBABLE.
- Hunter Tyson (sprained right ankle) is QUESTIONABLE.
- Russell Westbrook (sprained right hand) is PROBABLE.
Head-to-Head
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 30-35 against the Nuggets in the regular season (18-16 at home, 12-19 on the road) and 6-4 in the Playoffs (5-1 at home, 2-3 on the road).
- Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder has won the season series with the Nuggets 7 times, lost it 8 times, and tied it twice.
- The Thunder went 2-2 against the Nuggets in the regular season (1-1 at home, 1-1 on the road).
- OKC is tied with Denver 3-3 in the Western Conference Semifinals (2-1 at home, 1-2 on the road).