The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder confirmed that they are no fluke.
With a visit to the Western Convention Finals on the road in a winner-takes-all Recreation 7 that pitted the highest two MVP contenders in opposition to each other in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, the Thunder proved that their NBA-best report and their top-rated protection weren’t successes confined to the common season.
The youngest group within the postseason not solely stood as much as a Denver Nuggets group that had received a championship two years in the past and routed the LA Clippers in a Recreation 7 within the first spherical of those playoffs, they annihilated them.
After the Nuggets jumped to an 11-point lead within the first quarter, the Thunder responded by outscoring them within the second interval, 39-20, and led by as many as 43 factors within the fourth quarter.
It was a shocking win for a group that appeared nice, however wasn’t actually battle-tested. Final season, the Thunder additionally completed with the No. 1 report within the Western Convention, however fell aside in opposition to the Dallas Mavericks within the second spherical of the playoffs.
This was their likelihood to show that that they had actual postseason chops.
The Thunder emphatically answered any questions on whether or not they have been prepared for this stage. They remodeled a battle-tested Nuggets group with a celebrity who’s broadly thought-about the best participant on this planet right into a ragtag group that appeared deflated and surprised other than the primary quarter.
Whereas Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder’s offensive cost with 35 factors, Alex Caruso was the pinnacle of the snake on the opposite finish of the courtroom. The 6-foot-5, former undrafted participant virtually single-handedly unraveled the Nuggets’ offense at occasions, robbing them of their confidence.
Caruso, a former NBA champion whom the Thunder acquired final summer time for moments like this, completed with the best plus-minus of anybody on the courtroom (+40). He helped pressure the Nuggets to commit 22 turnovers, greater than twice as many because the Thunder’s 9. The Thunder outscored the Nuggets in fast-break factors, 27-14.
The Nuggets crumpled after the primary quarter, regardless of 20 factors, 9 rebounds and 7 assists from Jokic, 19 factors from Christian Braun and a gutsy exhibiting from Aaron Gordon, who performed regardless of struggling a grade 2 hamstring pressure in Recreation 6.
As for the Thunder, they’re advancing to their first convention finals since 2016, with Recreation 1 in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves set for Tuesday. The Thunder will probably be attempting to win their first title since relocating from Seattle in 2008.
And despite the fact that they’re younger and unproven, they despatched a robust message to the three remaining groups within the postseason.
The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder is not only a regular-season phenom who cannot deal with the intense lights of the playoffs, when stress intensifies, benches shrink and physicality reaches a feverish stage.
They’re greater than prepared for this second.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA author for FOX Sports activities. She beforehand lined the league for Sports activities Illustrated, the Los Angeles Instances, the Bay Space Information Group and the San Antonio Specific-Information. Comply with her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
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