The Thunder Survive Game 7 By Kicking The Absolute Shit Out Of The Nuggets To Punch Their Ticket To The Western Conference Finals

Zach Beeker. Getty Images.

Well, that wasn't exactly the competitive Game 7 thriller I think most of us were hoping for. Things were close for about 1.5 quarters, but once the Thunder closed the first half on a 14-2 run to go up 14 points and then started the 3rd quarter with a 9-0 run, that was pretty much it. The way they can hit you like an avalanche is crazy to watch in real time, because all it takes is 3 or 4 possessions and boom, you're dead. 

This was a 1 point game with 3:11 left in the 2nd quarter, and the next thing you knew, the Thunder made 10 of 11 shots, outscored the Nuggets 31-10, and that was that.

For Thunder fans, this was about as ideal of a Game 7 as you could have hoped for. It was clear OKC was a little nervous/tight early, but once water found its level and they started doing what they do best and forcing turnovers which led to easy baskets, they were never really challenged.

For Nuggets fans, it may feel like a missed opportunity, but there's certainly no shame in losing a Game 7 to a historic team while one of your best players was trying to play through a Grade 2 hamstring strain, another starter's shoulder is hanging on by a thread, and off the bench you have to rely on getting a good Russell Westbrook performance just to have a chance. That's a lot to ask for any team, and eventually they ran out of gas and were immediately run out of the building.

The reason you always want to avoid these Game 7 situations is that all it takes is a tough variance game, and you're season is over. The margin for error is so slim, you can't really afford to have a complete roster no show on both ends of the floor. When you do, that's how you lose by a billion. I would say the Nuggets shooting 39/22% is exactly what that looks like, and then you add in their 22 TOs which led to 37 Thunder points, and well, there's your game.

22 TOs leading 37 points!!

You are NOT beating the Thunder at home doing that shit. Hell, you aren't beating the worst teams in the NBA being that careless, let alone one of the best teams in NBA history. Add in an additional 19 2nd chance points, and this Game 7 Thunder win was a textbook ass kicking via exactly how they've been kicking ass all year. They're going to be super physical, foul a shit ton, and force the officials to call them all knowing they won't. You don't have to like it, but that's how they play. Just look at how Caruso was able to play Jokic in this game. He fouled the shit out of him on every catch, but in a Game 7 the refs just let it go. They were able to limit him to just 9 FGA (23 points, -23) and if the Nuggets weren't going to get a massive Jokic game, it meant the "others" were going to have to step up.

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The results?

Jamal Murray only had 13 points on 6-16 and was a -23. MPJ only 8 points on 3-8 shooting and a -8. Peyton Watson off the bench, just 1-8 and a -27. Russell Westbrook, a tough 2-7 with 4 TOs and a -37 in his minutes. For a team with all that postseason experience, they collectively laid an egg.

I think that's what makes this Thunder run so interesting. Their lack of experience was clearly one of the biggest knocks on their playoff chances, considering everything basketball related said they should walk to the title. 68 wins, the best scoring differential in NBA history (+12.9), one of if not the best defenses in NBA history, the only thing you could say is they hadn't really had their playoff scars yet. But what if this is more of a 2014-15 Warriors situation? That team didn't have scars, they were young, and they won the title, so technically there is a blueprint.

On their side, they got the collective effort you dream for in a Game 7. Top to bottom everyone who touched the floor made a winning impact

Big time showings by their two best players, SGA playing like an MVP and JDub immediately redeeming himself after that terrible Game 6, Caruso coming in and doing Alex Caruso shit on both ends of the floor, you could argue their main bench guys outside of Caruso didn't even shoot all that well and it didn't matter one bit. 

That's the beauty of forcing turnovers and being able to play in transition. It's exactly how OKC has murdered everything in their path all year, and tonight may have been their Mona Lisa when they needed it most.

For SGA, he avoids the dreaded fate of being a guard version of Joel Embiid and winning an MVP, yet still never getting past the second round. He's had an up and down playoffs for sure (at least early on), but it does feel like he's starting to settle into the player he was during the year, all while not really living at the FT line by the way. His total of 7 30+ games leads the playoffs, and when it came time to answer the call and step up in a Game 7, he did. That's all you can really ask for when it comes to your franchise player.

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Once the Celts were eliminated it guaranteed that for the 7th straight season we were going to see a new champion, and now that the Nuggets are out there's a strong chance we're going to see a team win their first ever title (I do not count the 1979 Sonics for OKC). Either that, or the Knicks will end a 40+ year drought

It may not be the Final 4 teams that everyone expected (I know I certainly didn't!), but the basketball should be pretty fucking awesome from here on out, no matter what combination of teams make it through to the NBA Finals.

So while as a casual viewer it was a bummer this wasn't a down to the wire thriller of a Game 7, sometimes that's just how it goes. Credit to the Thunder for taking the first early punch on the chin and then whooping that ass for the remaining 2.5 quarters. That was about as close to a championship response as you could possibly get in the 2nd round.