The series of Thunder VS Nuggets is now going to the must-win game 7 in NBA playoffs.

Shai Gilgeous-Aalexander made himself on the field on the field, without his jersey and stayed rocky when he went from the thunderbank to the starting tunnel.

Lu there moved the same way, his eyes mostly down.

And Jalen Williams left the courtyard with a towel over his head, a look he frequently rocks after the games, but that night there was no smile, no gimmicks and definitely no entertaining interviews after the game.

The next time we see these boys, you will try to win a game 7.

In one night, Oklahoma City had the opportunity to close Denver on his home hardwood. This semi-finals of the Western Conference is no longer a best-of-Seven series. On Sunday afternoon it is now a scenario with a and made Win-Or-Go house.

It gets nerve -wracking and thanks.

It will be great.

“It will be very fun,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters in Denver after game 6.

Casketball on crack maybe.

If it is a knockout game, everything can happen. That makes the NCAA tournament so great; An outsider only has to beat a team once, not three or four times. And frankly, the NBA has the best-of-Seven series. It is a setup that usually enables the best teams to triumph.

But of course game 7 is the best of both worlds. We receive the advantages of a series. The familiarity. The contempt. The story. But we also get the pressure of a profit-take-all game. A game, a pass, a shot, a sales, a mistake, even a misstep, was able to determine the game.

How will the thunder react?

Well, that is literally the assumption because we have never seen this pile in this situation. Despite everything that did the two top seeds in the Western Conference as the youngest, then the second youngest team in the NBA, the 68 victories of this season, the historical metrics and much more-a thing it has not done is a game 7.

And it will take a nuggets team into the boiler to the kettle call, which will play its second game 7 in these playoffs and the seventh game 7 in Nikola Jokic -era. These boys felt the pressure, dealt with their nerves and made the emotions.

In contrast to your triumph a few weeks ago against the Clipper, you didn't always win.

In 2019, the Nuggets defeated the Spurs in a series with seven games in the first round, then lost in seven games in the half year of the Blazer in a half-value.

Next year the Nuggets had a few games 7, first against jazz, then against the Clippers.

Last year Denver had a collapse of game 7 against Minnesota, who had a lead in the second half in the second half in the conference semi-final and lost the chance to defend his NBA title.

I will say it again: everything can happen.

A crazy side note in the experience that Jokic and Co. have in game 7 is that you have never played a game 7 on the street. Three in Denver and two in the Covid bubble. It is a new challenge for the experienced team.

And it is a big advantage for the young team.

The thunder is more comfortable in this series when it is at home. Although it lost game 1, it led almost three quarters, while game 2 was almost a wire-to-win, in which OKC led up to 49 points. In game 5 the thunder exceeded the Nuggets 34-19 in the fourth quarter.

In the home games during this series, OKC turns 49.1% of the floor and 39.8% behind the bow.

It shoots 42.3% and 25.7% in street games.

And yet game 7s are different.

Take a look at Okc's most recent game 7. It happened in the Orlando bubble, and yes that the Thunder team was almost completely different from the current one. Nevertheless, the cookinity of this game is a warning story.

The Rockets defeated the thunder that day because James Harden won the game with his defense, while the best offensive player was on the pitch. Houston's game-winning shot, if you can believe it, was a mid-range jumper.

In other words, up and down was up and down and the seven dwarf train ran backwards.

But here are some good news: Two of the boys in thunder blue that day in the bladder they wear still. Gilgeous-Alexander and there were large parts there, so they had to experience a game 7. In the bladder, yes, but the tension was still there.

Any lessons?

“We have to go out there, have fun, play for free,” said SGA.

Easy to say. Difficult to do.

This is because game 7 in sports is different. They are scary and difficult. They are beautiful and rare. They are bloody and wonderful.

Time to see which side the young thunder comes down.

Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Follow how on facebook.com/jennicarlsonok at @jennicarlsonok.bsky.social and twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok and support your work and other Oklahoman journalists by buying a digital subscription today.

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