Donner falls flat against the nuggets and is now pending on the pressure of game 7

Denver – The celebrations began before the last buzzer had even sounded, hugged the Nuggets player and congratulated each other too well -made jobs, a series expanded and saved one season.

There was a thick melancholy layer at the other end of the courtyard. Mark Daigneult, coach of Oklahoma City Thunder, ducked under the tunnel and fidgeted with his fingers as if he were trying to create a piece that would alleviate the collective pain of his team. The players went into the changing room one after the other, their heads looked at the floor – all while the boos from the ball arena rose on them.

And as much optimism as the changing room that was shown afterwards, there was no reality that Oklahoma City had approved a golden opportunities. The thunder had a chance on Thursday evening – to be honest to put the nuggets away. To avoid the tension and nervousness that can come with a game 7.

You didn't do it.

“I thought we played a really good first half,” said Daignault after the loss of Oklahoma City in game 6 in Oklahoma City.

In game 6, the nuggets, which were already playing a short rotation, decided to finally force their will physically to a young Thunder team. In truth, the sublime, highly efficient nights of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 points in 11-of-16 shooting) and Nikola Jokić (29 points in 9-of-14 shooting) felt almost secondary, with role players like Christian Braun and Julian stripes when the lights were bright. Denver decided to force the problem of consistently attacking the teeth of the defense of Oklahoma City and the civil servants to make calls on the phone.

“You threw a blow tonight how it happened in this series,” said Daignault. “Both teams exchange beats and they have theirs tonight.”

If there was a word to describe the offensive process of the thunder – and at times your approach defensively – it was flat. According to cleaning the glass, their 92.0 points per 100 half -court games are classified in just the 33rd percentile of the off -season performance -far below their standard. And it was not that they coughed the ball over a ton (only 11 sales) or had a bad shooting quality (the operational word tonight was her “process”), but a team that looked like usually overloaded teams looked just lethargic.

Fatigue can be cited a real aspect of professional sports and everyday life, but not as an excuse. Denver does the same, plays less boys and is older. It felt like the nuggets wanted It is more, a precarious position in which it has achieved so much this season. In game 7 there is no uniform unit. The Sunday evening in Oklahoma City will be the high-pressure situation in which these Thunder players were against an experienced, cotton-tested group.

Daignault said Denver exceeded his team for most series outside of two routes in the fourth quarter. The primary focus of the nuggets was on the neutralization of Gilgeous-Alexander's goal threat, thrown a mixture of pressure-filled zones in its own way and forces someone else to shoulder the cargo.

The problem is that Jalen Williams, SGA's running mate and an all-star are fighting. After an average of almost 22 points per game in the regular season, Williams only broke this series by 20 points five times. In game 5, Williams had his worst point trip and ended with only six points in 3-of-16 shooting. Williams' focus in other areas was usually his lovable factor, and on Thursday he recorded seven rebounds, three steals, a block and 10 assists. And Williams is usually hard for himself and refers to the last summer on the bench to think about his less than outstanding offensive performance. But there is a balance between Williams, the Creator, and Williams, the scorer that he and thunder have to rediscover quickly.

“I think I got spots that I want to reach and they didn't go in. This is how basketball works,” he said. “I think I had a good process of what I was doing. I only hurt each other tonight without taking pictures.”

In the next 48 hours the thunder has the chance to get back into the film room and to determine exactly what went wrong in game 6. Some avoidable, easy mistakes cost – early foul problems have a unique way of interrupting and flowing, boxing, and not overwhelmed by a team that bounces off in the department, the department for the department for the post -season – the templates that are at the beginning. In the first half, the thunder had successfully deleted a double -digit deficit and built one of her own before slowly losing control. The back and forth nature of this series makes a game 7 almost a well-deserved, matching end of this matchup.

“It will be very fun,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “The basketball with the highest intensity that you have ever played.

But Oklahoma City has to play with the same despair that Denver showed in game 6, if not exponentially. The Paycom Center is an electric, lively building that is a culture in itself, and its warmth will raise a Thunder team that is looking for advantages. This is a team that won 68 games in the regular season, so there are no mistakes of mistakes. This series can be cooked at least from a perspective on the Nuggets zone, which effectively dares the thunder in order to exceed it. This gambling paid off, and Oklahoma City only turns 27.5 and 24.4 percent out of 3 in two of the last three games. To make open shots as clichéd as it sounds, will make a large contribution to stopping nerves and ghosts.

“Huge,” said Lu there The athlete About the importance of a home and camaraderie in an excretion game. “The togetherness we have in our team is crazy. You can see in this changing room, even after such a loss, every head is reduced, and yet we have the same mood that we had throughout the season. We have to group newly group, see film and see what we can do for game 7.”

(Photo of the thunder guard Alex Caruso: J. Downing / Imagn Images)