Thunder Beat Nuggets, Advance to NBA Western Conference Finals

The Oklahoma City Thunder got off to a slow start, trailing by 11 at one point in the first quarter of Game 7 of their playoff semifinal round with the Denver Nuggets, and were down by five at the end of the quarter. But the Thunder responded to the win or go home situation, showing why they had the best record in the NBA this season. OKC outscored Denver 104-67 the rest of the way and left the Nuggets in the dust, cruising to a 125-93 victory in Oklahoma City on May 18th. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led OKC with 35 points, and Jaylen Williams scored 24. Nikola Jokic led Denver with 20 and Christian Braun scored 19 for Denver.

With this series decided, the Conference Finals are set. In the Western Conference, it will be Oklahoma City and the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the Eastern Conference will feature the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. None of these franchises has won an NBA championship for a long time. The most recent was the Thunder in the 1978-9 season, when the team was in Seattle. It’s the franchise’s only NBA title to date. The Knicks have won two NBA championships, in 1969-70, and again in 1972-73. Indiana has yet to win an NBA title, but the former ABA team won three titles in that league before joining the NBA in 1976. Minnesota entered the NBA in 1989; the Timberwolves are still looking for their first NBA championship.