Nuggets season ends with 125-93 loss to Thunder in Game 7 | 3 takeaways
The Nuggets hit their head on their ceiling.
The top-seeded Thunder sent the Nuggets into the offseason with a 125-93 blowout win in Game 7 at Paycom Center Sunday.
Here are three takeaways from Denver’s season-ending defeat:
What happened
The Nuggets led by 11 midway through the first quarter and had Colorado believing. But the Thunder closed the half on an 18-5 run to take a 14-point lead into intermission.
The Thunder lead quickly grew to 23 points early in the third quarter, and that was it for Denver’s season.
Nikola Jokic tried everything he could, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds. Aaron Gordon gutted through a Grade 2 hamstring strain and played 25 minutes. Christian Braun once again rose to the occasion in an elimination game, scoring 19 points. But it wasn’t nearly enough.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 35 points led the way for OKC, but it was Alex Caruso who made the biggest impact for the Thunder as they were a plus-40 with him on the floor.
What it means
In the two postseasons after winning the franchise’s first NBA championship, the Nuggets haven’t gotten past the second round.
Last year, it was a blown 20-point second half lead against the Timberwolves that left Ball Arena stunned. This year’s loss to a team that won 68 games in the regular season was less surprising.
Since Jokic won his first MVP award in 2021, the Nuggets have made the playoffs each year, but have advanced past the second round just once — during the 2023 title run.
What’s next
It’s Josh Kroenke time. He called his shot over a month ago when he fired both Michael Malone and Calvin Booth in the final week of the regular season. He said it was because he still believed in the championship potential of the current group and largely, he was proven right.
Denver took the No. 1 seed to the brink and maybe would have won Game 7 if not for Gordon’s injury.
Now, a new head of the basketball operations department (either a president or a general manager, or both) must be hired, as well as a new coach. Kroenke may believe in some form of continuity and remove David Adelman’s interim tag.
But the roster needs a makeover and that might take an experienced GM. The Nuggets’ depth was an issue throughout the season and it’s fair to wonder how many years Jokic has left at the superstar level, even if he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. There will likely be a shakeup.