Gilgeous-Alexander, young Thunder look to take major step in Game 7 vs. Nuggets
OKLAHOMA CITY AP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder have reached a moment of truth The youngest organization in league history to win at least regular-season games can validate that success when it hosts Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in Challenge of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday It s a big deal for a Thunder group that lost to Dallas in the conference semifinals last year as the No seed in the West It s do or die Gilgeous-Alexander revealed after losing Tournament in Denver It s what you live for it s what you worked your whole life for It s either your organization continues or your dream ends So you lay it all out there on the floor and you live with the results The winner advances to play Minnesota in the Western Conference finals starting Tuesday Thunder coach Mark Daigneault declared the band s approach will not change even with all that is at stake After all Oklahoma City won a league-best games in the regular season It s recurring themes that you just revisit in these situations and if you need new material in these situations then your material was wrong in the first place he commented Gilgeous-Alexander an MVP finalist has returned to form after a slow offensive start in the series He is averaging points rebounds and assists while shooting from the field in the six games Gilgeous-Alexander will face a Denver squad that won the NBA title in and notched a Contest win this season in the first round against the Los Angeles Clippers We ve got to do what we ve been doing in the series Denver interim coach David Adelman noted We ve got to hang early and then rely on our chemistry and the fact that we ve been around each other for a long time That s where experience can really help you Jokic a three-time MVP and a finalist this year has had two great games in the series and three that are below his standards He had points and rebounds in Match a Nuggets win in Oklahoma City He had points and rebounds in a Tournament loss In the three games in between he shot from the field and his scoring average dipped to One of Jokic s the greater part critical helpers might not play Adelman declared Aaron Gordon a key member for Denver throughout the playoffs will be a game-time decision with a left hamstring injury The versatile -foot- forward hit the dramatic championship winner in Match He has averaged points and rebounds in the series while shooting from -point range Thunder forward Chet Holmgren commented the Thunder won t worry about things out of their control It s going to come down to who s willing to really execute and win each possession all throughout the tournament he reported You can t worry about winning the encounter you ve got to win a possession first and then worry about the next one That s what we ve we got to do that s what they re going to try and do and we ve got to do it better Denver Nuggets at Oklahoma City Thunder When Where to Watch Championship p m EDT ABC Series Tied - BetMGM says Thunder by What to Know With the two MVP candidates possibly canceling each other out the supporting stars likely will be critical in Tournament Oklahoma City s Jalen Williams was an All-Star this season but he has struggled the last three games shooting a combined for from the field He s capable of urgent out as he did with a -point effort in Championship But he s only averaging points and shooting from the field in the series way down from his regular-season numbers Denver s Jamal Murray hasn t shot his best in the series either but he overcame an illness to tally points and be a critical factor in Denver s Battle win He s up and down but if the good version of him shows up Oklahoma City could be in trouble AP NBA https apnews com hub NBA Source
