Thunder vs. Nuggets scoring, snack: led by Alex Caruso, OKC's defense suffocates Denver to earn WCF lying space

The Oklahoma City Thunder goes to the conference final. After a 125-93 victory in game 7 of their second round against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, they will organize the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

The thunder, which had the best defense of the league in the regular season, defensively suffocated Denver. After a slow start, Oklahoma City Denver transferred 90-48 from the 0:50 mark of the first quarter up to 9:36 mark of the fourth, at this point the nuggets pulled their starters.

Shai Gilgeous-Aalexander ended with a game high of 35 points (12-19 FG, 3-4 3pt, 8-9 ft) plus three rebounds, four assists, three steals, one block and zero sales in 36 minutes. Jalen Williams scored 17 of his 24 points in the second quarter and added five rebounds, seven assists and theft in 33 minutes. Alex Caruso had one of the best 11-point appearances with three assists that she will ever see-he changed the game defensively as soon as he checked in, and he was in 26 minutes plus-40. Cason Wallace, who was 29 minutes plus 38, was also extremely annoying in defense.

Denvers Nikola Jokić scored a team high of 20 points (5-9 FG, 1-2 3pt, 9-11 ft) and recorded nine vineyards, seven templates and five sales in 37 minutes. Christian Braun added 19 points (7-14 FG, 2-9 3pt, 3-4 feet) in 33 minutes. However, the nuggets were not aggressively and they did not get what they needed from Jamal Murray (13 points in the 6-against-16 shoot, 1: 8 from Deep) or Michael Porter Jr. (Six points on 3-on-8 shooting, 0: 4 from Deep). Aaron Gordon started and recorded 25 minutes, even though he had a thigh of class 2, and he ended with eight points with 2: 4 shooters and 11 rebounds, including four on the offensive glass.

The statistics that the story tells: Denver shot the ball over 22 times. 16 of them were live ball sales.

You just can't do that against the thunder.

Here are a few snack bars from game 7:

The carushow

I wondered if Oklahoma City could start Caruso in this game. Coach Mark Daignult did not work this route, but after watching him chaos in 15 minutes in the first half, he put him on the place of the great man Isaiah Hartenstein at the beginning of the second half. With Caruso on the

“He is something special,” Gilgeous-Alexander told ESPNS Lisa Salters in a strike interview. “His hands, his smarts, he knows what everyone should do on our offensive and their offenses at all times, and that's why he is a really good defensive player. Every team in the league would like to have such a man, and we are one of these teams.”

The thunder overwhelmed Denver with physicality, sportiness and speed. That was not all Of course Caruso – the team is defensively stacked just as much as every team in the history of the league – but Caruso set the tone. He was listed at 6-foot 5 and 186 pounds, but when he teamed up with Jokić, he made it difficult for the three-time MVP to catch the ball at all.

Caruso ended with three steals, but that is not nearly on grasping its effects on the end of the soil. It is worth noting that Lu, who took fourth place in the defensive player of the year, only played for 17 minutes – this was mainly because Caruso was causing chaos.

At the beginning of the series, Caruso had occasionally fought against Jokić. In game 7, however, he was Jokić's primary defender for longer distances.

“Today's volume was the result of how effective it was,” said Daignault Reporter. “But it was a priority to go to the fore today and he did an incredible job individually. If you exercise such a player with 6: 5 guards, you need relentless help and relentless pressure on the entry-level passes, and everything works together. So he had an astonishing effort individual.

Instead of bending on two big positions, Daignault also limited Hartenstein to 17 minutes and only played Jaylin Williams until the garbage time. This led to problems for Oklahoma City on the defensive glass, but that made it more than – by conquering a lot of offensive rebound himself and dominating the sales battle, the thunder gained the possession of the possession.

“They kept bringing in new people and overwhelmed us,” Nugget's interim coach David Adelman told reporters. “Sales were obviously a big problem in this game, and sometimes the number of the number does not matter, but 16 steals, these are live ball sales, these are Dunks, which are 37 points from their mistakes.

Nuggets are “a bunch of zombies”

After Daignault had removed the nuggets, she praised her.

“They showed the explanations of a champion,” said Daignault.

Denver was extremely beaten. It didn't have the depth of Oklahoma City and there was definitely no such kind of defense personnel. Nevertheless, they put the thunder on seven games on seven games. Her zone defense in particular gave OKC problems in the half court.

“The run to this point and the run they gave us was impressive,” said Daignault. “You are a few zombies and we have the ultimate respect for your team. And we are now better than we were at the beginning of the series, and it is up to them. They pushed us to the border.”

Adelman pointed out that the nuggets had a lead of 21 to 10 in the first quarter. At that time the thunder was missing their 3 Series and they did not get out of the transition. Denver had the chance to extend the lead and put OKC into a hole, but everything went sideways quickly.

“It felt like we just couldn't push the thing out,” said Adelman. “It felt like the score for four minutes. That was our opportunity to really take control of the game.”

Adelman said that he was “depressed for the boys” because he sought the nuggets. They had “the start we wanted”, but could not remain against the defense of the Thunder.

“It is a relentless defensive team,” said Adelman. “They always seem to be fresh because they are.” Her defense, all the effects we had on our zone, and all the things we have done does not matter. “

Denver was able to create clean looks from a 3-point range. However, she couldn't get it, and these shots were not necessarily comfortable.

“It was just a catalyst for us, the pressure, the distractions, the sales,” said Daigneult. “And even if they got shots, I thought that the pressure and help really interrupted the rhythm of these recordings. And the boys only did a great job to search the noise of a game 7 and only concentrate on what we had to do to win and we really did it.”

Adelman said that he would not use bad health as an excuse for loss.

“We were beaten,” he said. “And if we were tired so late, we were certainly not tired early.”

In the future, however, he said that the Nuggets have to make it a healthier season. In addition to Gordon's injury, Porter dealt with a bricked -left shoulder and Murray dealt with an illness.

“If these guys get older year after year, we have to maintain them,” said Adelman. “And if you play such a young team that has an incredible depth, very good coaching teams – obviously Mark does a great job – you have to have the freshest version of yourself. And that's a reason why I am so proud of these boys to get this to seven. grilled through this. The Clipper's series was the same: grind long enough to give yourself a chance. And today it was the same. It was like the Clipper game, but you cannot win these games if you don't reach them. “

Gordon stuck it out

Gordon was not physically himself on Sunday, but he made it to the Court and contributed. His performance was more reminiscent of James Harden, who in the 2021 Playoffs was a severe minutes at a upper limit of the 2-upper limit than with a similar injury in a game 7 last season. Since he couldn't sprint and hadn't had much boost, it was amazing to see.

“Aaron Gordon is incredible,” said Adelman. “What he played today, I don't know that the people who would even try to go out and run up and down, and he did it in game 7 against Oklahoma City. That was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.”

According to Adelman, Gordon was “extremely close not to play”.

“I was surprised that they said: 'No, he is a reason, he'll start.' I knew there was a chance, but somehow planned: “I don't think he'll have it,” said Adelman. He almost had a double double. He went up and down in this kind of pain, shot the ball-3 looked so comfortable. It is just proof of its toughness. “

Denver must make changes to his squad in the low season. It takes depth and it takes to shoot. However, Gordon has strengthened his place in the team. Before this brave, unforgettable representation in game 7, he significantly improved his free throwing shots and 3-point shooting this season, which is almost unknown to a 29-year-old in the 11th year. With the season on the line, he was able to do everything to help the team.

“He gave us more than I think we could all ask,” said Murray.