OKC Thunder vs Denver Nuggets game player stats and box score for May 18 | 2025 NBA Western Conference playoffs semifinals Game 7

The Denver Nuggets took on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Game 7 of the Western conference finals at the Paycom Center on Sunday. A lot of the buzz before the game was about Nuggets star Aaron Gordon who heroically decided to play despite nursing a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

The Nuggets got off to a hot start on the back of Aaron Gordon who tallied 5 rebounds before sitting in the first and Christian Braun who quickly scored 9 points.

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The Nuggets quickly got off to a double digit lead but the Thunder pushed the pace on defense and in transitions to cut the lead to 5 points by the end of the first quarter.

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The Nuggets early advantage was erased by the Thunder when they went on a 13-3 run to start the second quarter. Versatile defender Alex Caruso became the unlikely choice to guard Nikola Jokic at the point of attack. The Oklahoma City guard hounded the Serbian superstar, restricting him to only three made field goals before the half. The Thunder's defensive prowess became evident when a flurry of turnovers right before halftime powered a 14-2 run.

The Thunder held a 14 point advantage at halftime, leaving the hobbled Nuggets with a massive task on their hands.

The wheels came off for the Nuggets in the third quarter as MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's step back three extended the lead to 23. The lead hovered around there for the rest of the quarter as the chances of a blowout looked imminent. The Nuggets had no answers for OKC's stifling defense and kept losing possessions due to sloppy turnovers

About the author

Amlan Sanyal is a basketball writer at Sportskeeda with more than two years of experience. Amlan has a soft spot for the lovable loser, and years of supporting Leeds Utd, the Seattle Mariners and San Antonio Spurs have made him realize that there's more to sport than just championships.

Amlan started falling for basketball after watching the San Antonio Spurs in 2012 and 2013. He watched as a collective of veteran legends, underrated misfits and a young defensive stud extended the Spurs' era of dominance with a team-oriented style, reminiscent of the aesthetic brilliance of 2011 FC Barcelona.

Amlan has supported the Spurs ever since, even after enduring the heartbreaks of Ray Allen's corner three and several years in the wilderness post-Kawhi Leonard. He hopes Victor Wembanyama will become the face of the league as Pop rides off into the sunset.

When not working, Amlan is a keen quizzer and a podcast buff and can usually be found reading books, watching movies or listening to history podcasts.

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Edited by Amlan Sanyal