Aaron Gordon willed himself to play through pain, embodying a gritty playoff run by the Nuggets. But resilience and toughness weren’t enough against the Thunder.

NBA MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points and top-seeded OKC roared to a 125-93 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 Sunday at Paycom Center.

For all the misconstruing that happens in these NBA Playoffs, Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets brought out the OKC Thunder team Mark Daigneault recognized.

The Nuggets/Thunder Game 7 matchup begins Sunday, May 18 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN2, and Watch ESPN. Game 7 of the Nuggets/Thunder series airs on ABC. If you have a valid cable login, you can stream the game on the ABC app, website, or Watch ESPN.

The hypotheticals are more nuanced this year. It was all soberingly simple in 2024. In a series of blowouts, the Nuggets would’ve advanced past Minnesota if they had just protected that 20-point lead in Game 7. There were no other distinct moments that swung the outcome. Just one unambiguous collapse.

Alex Caruso's shutdown defense on Nikola Jokic boosts Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7 win over Denver Nuggets.

The Oklahoma City Thunder blitzed the Denver Nuggets on Sunday in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series in a 125-93 victory.

The Western Conference Finals move to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Saturday night, where the desperate Timberwolves are slight home underdogs vs. the Thunder. The latter are heavily favored to not only win this series,