The Oklahoma City Thunder were classified this Sunday for the final of the NBA West Conference after clarity (125-93) to the Nikola Jokić Denvers of Nikola Jokić in the seventh and decisive semifinal match. Led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who aspires to be crowned as the best player of the regular season, the Thunder opened a gap in the second quarter after starting the game on tow and ended up crushing their rivals. Then they administered their advantage. In the west final, the first one played since 2016, the Oklahoma team will be measured with the Minnesota Timberwolves of Anthony Edwards.
The Thunder leave as favorites not only in that confrontation, which will begin this Tuesday, but also are to give Oklahoma City their first NBA title, once the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers are eliminated. The team is the successor of the Seattle Supersonics, who did win a ring in 1979. Now they have the opportunity to get the first since their transfer, although these are being playoffs loaded with surprises.
The team led by Mark Daigneault, who was chosen best coach last year, has clearly dominated the regular season, in which they achieved 68 wins against 14 losses, the best balance of the competition. In front of the East Conference teams they only suffered a defeat. At the leadership of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), the centimeters of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, the effectiveness of Jalen Williams and the intensity of Alex Caruso have joined.
His rival in the final of the West is, however, one of the teams that kept the guy. Of the four duels between the Thunder and the Timberwolves, two fell on each side. After the departure of Karl-Anthony Towns, the Anthony Edwards team seems somewhat less dangerous than last season, but has an aggressive defense and will not make things easy.
The two best players of the season, SGA, the top scorer, and Nikola Jokić faced this Sunday, who to his scoring facet adds extraordinary figures of rebounds and assists. The Canadian, however, is better accompanied than the Serbian.
In the seventh semifinal match, the leader of the Thunder scored 35 points, to which he added four assists and three rebounds. The Serbian, meanwhile, left 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the locker.
The Nuggets were better planted on the court and advanced 10-21 with an explosive beginning of Christian Brown’s game, while those of Oklahoma failed one triple after another. However, in the final stretch of the first quarter they reacted and finished the period with a 21-26.
The second quarter seemed relatively balanced, but the Nuggets sank before the break. In the absence of three minutes, the result was 42-41, but in that period, the Thunder escaped until a 60-46 that filled the visitors and euphoria with local followers who crowded the Paycom Center.
Things became worse in resumption. In just minute and a half the difference was already 23 points and the possibilities of the nuggets vanished. The constant balls lost by the Nuggets (22 in the game) before the defensive intensity of Oklahoma served the counterattack to the premises. The last quarter entered with a 97-72 that was already an impossible mission for Jokić’s team. In fact, the difference continued to expand in the last quarter, in which Denver’s coach David Adelman, chose to give rest to the Serbia star.
Although it was the only semifinal conference that had reached the seventh game, the definitive confrontation lacked the emotion of those duels to life or death.
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