The Denver Nuggets have been eliminated from the NBA playoffs. They were stopped in the Western Conference semifinals after a great series against Oklahoma, which won the seventh decisive game at home with a score of 125-93.
The Thunder will face Minnesota in the Western Conference finals and will have home-court advantage in that series. The team with the best record in the regular season faced fierce resistance from Denver, barely "surviving" this series. Tonight, Oklahoma was better, tougher, more aggressive and stronger than its rival, burdened with injuries and fatigue, and deservedly won convincingly.
The visitors tried at the beginning, the injured Aaron Gordon played beyond all expectations and Denver won the first quarter in their favor with 21-26. However, Oklahoma's rhapsody and its key step towards triumph came in the second period. The home team played its recognizable granite defense on the first line, led by Alex Caruso, and the Nuggets could not cope. At halftime it was 60-46, the third quarter began with a 9-0 series for Oklahoma, for 69-46, and that was the end for Denver. The rest of the game was played formally, the visiting team was powerless, Jokic also gave up, so Oklahoma managed to celebrate the conference finals, where they will face the dominant Timberwolves from Minnesota.
The winner's best player was MVP candidate Shay Gilges-Alexander with 35 points. Williams added 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds, Holmgren had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Caruso had 11 points. For Denver, Nikola Jokic scored 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Brown scored 19, Murray 13 points, and the injured Gordon was the author of 8 points and 11 rebounds.
