Siakam If You Got 'Em: Siakam Slams Knicks as Pacers Take 2-0 Series Lead
Pascal Siakam scored a playoff career-high 39 points on 15-23 field goal shooting to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 114-109 win over the New York Knicks in
game two of the Eastern Conference Finals. Siakam is an NBA champion, a two-time All-NBA Team member, and a three-time All-Star, and his value may be overlooked by casual fans, but he has played a major role in the Pacers' tremendous 2025 playoff run. Myles Turner added 16 points, while Tyrese Haliburton ran the show with 14 points, a game-high tying 11 assists, and a team-high eight rebounds. Game one hero Aaron Nesmith contributed 12 points and seven rebounds. T.J. McConnell scored 10 points and passed for four assists in just 14 minutes off of the bench. The Pacers ranked 17th in points allowed and 23rd in defensive field goal percentage during the regular season, and they rank 13th and seventh respectively in those categories during the 16 team playoffs, but that might turn out to be good enough to win the Eastern Conference when paired with the Pacers' high octane offense.
Jalen Brunson scored a team-high 36 points and passed for a game-high tying 11 assists, but he could not quite bring the Knicks back from a 10 point fourth quarter deficit. Mikal Bridges had 20 points and seven rebounds in a game-high 45 minutes. Karl-Anthony Towns also had 20 points and seven rebounds, but he posted a team-worst -20 plus/minus number, and he scored just two fourth quarter points while sitting out more than half of the final stanza. A major problem for the Knicks is that their two best offensive players--Brunson and Towns--are defensive liabilities who are regularly targeted by opposing teams. Mitchell Robinson had a strong game off of the bench, muscling his way to a game-high nine rebounds in 29 minutes. He also had an impact defensively with a game-high three blocked shots and a forceful presence in the paint, but he scored just six points; if the Knicks could combine Robinson's defense/rebounding with Towns' offense into one player then they would have something special--and they likely would not be trailing 2-0 in this series.
The Knicks led 52-49 at halftime, but their defense collapsed in the second half as the Pacers scored 65 points on 23-41 (.561) field goal shooting. Brunson (19 points) and Bridges (17 points) were the two leading individual scorers in the second half, but Indiana's balanced and efficient attack carried the day as Siakam (16 points), Turner (14 points), and Haliburton (12 points) each scored in double figures in the second half.
The Pacers have won six
straight road playoff games, including three versus the Eastern Conference's top seeded Cleveland Cavaliers;
in contrast, the Knicks are just 3-5 at home in the 2025 playoffs, and
they need to win at least one game in Indiana just to get a chance to
add to that home win total.
Labels: Indiana Pacers, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton
posted by David Friedman @ 12:55 AM
Thunder Rout Timberwolves After Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Receives MVP Trophy
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received his 2025 NBA regular season MVP trophy prior to game two of the Western Conference Finals, and then he reminded everyone why he deserved the award: he scored a game-high/playoff career-high tying 38 points on 12-21 field goal shooting while leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves to take a 2-0 series lead. ESPN's Tim Legler said that not all 2-0 leads are created equal, adding that this one feels "heavier" than others--and that is an apt way of describing how outmatched the Timberwolves appear to be. Maybe the Timberwolves will find a way to win game three at home, but it is an understatement to say that beating the Thunder is a daunting task.
Gilgeous-Alexander not only scored prolifically and efficiently, but he also had a game-high eight assists while committing just one turnover as the Thunder again dominated the possession game: the Thunder scored 22 points off of 14 Timberwolves turnovers while giving up just 10 points off of their eight turnovers. Jalen Williams had 26 points, a game-high 10 rebounds, and five assists. Chet Holmgren added 22 points, many of them on strong cuts to the hoop.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota in scoring (32 points), rebounding (nine), and assists (six), but he did not have enough help. Jaden McDaniels scored 22 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 17 points off of the bench, but Julius Randle had such a miserable game (six points on 2-11 field goal shooting) that he was benched for the entire fourth quarter.
The Thunder held the Timberwolves to 36-87 (.414) field goal shooting, including 11-39 (.282) from beyond the arc. The Thunder have a host of elite defensive players, led by Lu Dort-- who just earned his first All-Defensive Team selection--and Jalen Williams, a first-time All-Star in 2025 who also just earned his first All-Defensive Team selection. Alex Caruso made the All-Defensive Team each of the previous two seasons but did not qualify for selection this season because he only played in 54 regular season games.
This was not quite a wire to wire win--Minnesota briefly held two point and one point leads during the first half--but the Thunder led for most of this game, including the entire second half. The Timberwolves trailed 58-50 at halftime, a deficit that looked manageable, and they cut the margin to four a couple times before the Thunder closed the third quarter with a 23-7 run to lead 93-71 heading into the final stanza. The Thunder led by double digits for the entire fourth quarter.
Through the first two games of this series, the Thunder's athleticism and relentless defensive pressure have overwhelmed the Timberwolves, and the Timberwolves have not effectively used the size and physicality that helped them win playoff series versus the L.A. Lakers and Golden State Warriors. Julius Randle excelled in game one but disappeared in game two, while Anthony Edwards had a subpar game one by his lofty standards before playing well in game two. The young Thunder sometimes seem to be jittery at the start of games, but they generally calm down quickly before asserting their dominance in the third quarter. The Timberwolves will need to get outstanding performances from both Edwards and Randle plus more contributions from the supporting cast to win game three.
Labels: Anthony Edwards, Jalen Williams, Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
posted by David Friedman @ 11:19 AM
Nesmith Nails Eight Three Pointers as Pacers Stun Knicks in Overtime
In game one of the Eastern Conference Finals, the All-Stars from both teams shined under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, but Aaron Nesmith stole the show by scoring 20 of his playoff career-high 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Indiana Pacers rallied from a 14 point deficit to force overtime before prevailing over the New York Knicks, 138-135. Teams leading by at least 14 points in the final 2:45 of the fourth
quarter had been 994-0 since detailed play-by-play information began being tracked in
1997-98, so it is not an exaggeration to call this the greatest and most improbable playoff comeback in at least the past 27 years. This win is a reversal of Eastern Conference Finals fortune for the Pacers, who squandered a golden opportunity to win game one on the road last year versus the Boston Celtics; the Celtics swept the Pacers en route to winning their first NBA championship since 2008.
Nesmith ranked 10th in the NBA in three point field goal percentage (career-high .431) during the regular season, and he led the Pacers in three point field goals made (27) in the 2025 playoffs prior to game one, but those numbers did not suggest that he would tie an NBA playoff record by nailing six three pointers in the
fourth quarter or that he would break Indiana's playoff record by hitting eight
three pointers in a game. Nesmith did not score in the overtime, but he did his part to carry the Pacers that far, and then Andrew Nembhard (seven overtime points) and Obi Toppin (four overtime points) finished the job after the Knicks took a 129-125 overtime lead.
Tyrese Haliburton scored a team-high 31 points, dished for a team-high 11 assists, and had some late game heroics of his own, drilling a shot with his foot on the three point line as time expired in regulation, tying the score at 125. Hitting clutch shots is nothing new for Haliburton, who has made five shots to tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter or overtime in this year's playoffs alone, the most such shots in a single postseason since 1997. After beating the buzzer to send the game to overtime, Haliburton thought that he had made a game-winning three pointer, so he did the "choke" sign as an homage to Reggie Miller doing the "choke" sign at Madison Square Garden during the Pacers' win in game five of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals. Haliburton's premature celebration turned out to be prophetic, but it is worth remembering that the Pacers have a history of premature celebrations gone wrong. Miller scored 25 fourth quarter points in game five in 1994, but the Pacers lost the next two games to choke away a 3-2 series lead, and they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals three times in the next five years--sandwiched around a first round loss in 1996 and missing the playoffs in 1997--before finally reaching the NBA Finals in 2000. Miller should have learned his lesson earlier in the 1994 season: he bowed to the Chicago crowd after hitting a go ahead shot with less than one second remaining only to watch Toni Kukoc nail the game-winning three pointer on the next possession, after which the Bulls' Steve Kerr bowed toward Miller. The Pacers may want to ease up on the celebrations at least until they win a championship, something that the franchise has not accomplished since capturing the 1973 ABA title.
Pascal Siakam, a key member of Toronto's 2019 championship team, had 17 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Andrew Nembhard (15 points, four rebounds, four assists) and Myles Turner (14 points, five rebounds) made solid contributions at both ends of the court.
Jalen Brunson poured in a game-high 43 points on 15-25 field goal shooting and he passed for five assists, but he also had a game-high seven turnovers. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and six points in the overtime. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 35 points on 11-17 field goal shooting, and he grabbed 12 rebounds. Towns scored 13 fourth quarter points and he scored two points in the overtime. Josh Hart had a game-high 13 rebounds and a team-high seven assists along with eight points. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby scored 16 points each.
The Knicks led for most of the game, they outrebounded the Pacers 46-39, and they outscored the Pacers in the paint 62-50--but the Knicks committed 15 turnovers that the Pacers converted into 27 points while the Pacers had just seven turnovers and gave up just four points off of turnovers. If the Knicks had taken better care of the basketball and not given up 38 fourth quarter points then they would have won this game by double digits.
If this were the NCAA Tournament then the Pacers would survive and advance while the Knicks' season would be over--but an NBA playoff series is a race to four wins, so we will find out soon enough if this was a fluke win by an inferior team or if the Pacers are the better and tougher team.
Labels: Aaron Nesmith, Indiana Pacers, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks, Pascal Siakam, Tyrese Haliburton
posted by David Friedman @ 12:00 PM
Thunder Storm Past Timberwolves 114-88 in Game One of the Western Conference Finals
The Oklahoma City Thunder are not infallible, but they may be unbeatable--at least in a seven game series. The Minnesota Timberwolves led the Thunder 47-38 with 1:14 remaining in the second quarter of game one of the Western Conference Finals, but the Thunder won 114-88; that is a 35 point swing in a little over 24 minutes. This game was very much a tale of two halves: the Timberwolves won the first half 48-44, and then the Thunder won the second half 70-40. The overall numbers told a story of Thunder domination, as the Thunder outscored the Timberwolves 54-20 in the paint, 31-10 in points off of turnovers, and 12-0 in fast break points. The Thunder shot 41-82 (.500) from the field while holding the Timberwolves to 29-83 (.349) field goal shooting.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander personified how the Thunder performed: he scored 11 first half points on 2-13 field goal shooting, and then poured in 20 second half points on 8-14 field goal shooting. He ended up with a game-high 31 points on 10-27 field goal shooting along with a game-high nine assists plus five rebounds and three steals. A "stat guru" may not understand why not all 10-27 shooting performances are created equal, but there is a difference between forcing shots/taking bad shots and missing good shots before getting into a rhythm. It is also worth emphasizing that Gilgeous-Alexander attempted 14 free throws and just four three pointers; he is a master of the supposedly inefficient midrange game, which is the area that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant dominated en route to winning six championships and five championships respectively. In the playoffs, a star player cannot always get to the hoop and he should not rely too heavily on high variance three point shooting: the midrange area is very important for winning playoff games.
Gilgeous-Alexander's All-Star sidekick Jalen Williams contributed 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Chet Holmgren (15 points on 6-9 field goal shooting, seven rebounds, two blocked shots) and Isaiah Hartenstein (12 points on 6-8 field goal shooting, five rebounds) held up well versus Minnesota's big and aggressive frontcourt. Cason Wallace (three points, seven assists), Alex Caruso (nine points), and Isaiah Joe (seven points, eight rebounds) made solid contributions off of the bench.
Julius Randle scored 20 first half points on 6-8 field goal shooting (including 5-6 from beyond the arc), but in the second half the Thunder ran him off of the three point line (he did not attempt even one second half trey) while holding him to eight points on 3-5 field goal shooting. His 28 points on 9-13 field goal shooting look more "efficient" than Gilgeous-Alexander's, but Bill Russell once sagely noted that when a player scores can be as important as how much he scores; he was referring specifically to Julius Erving's uncanny ability to score timely baskets, but this wisdom has broader applications, even though "stat gurus" will insist that a basket scored in the first minute of a game, a basket scored at the end of a 20 point blowout, and a basket scored in the closing seconds of a game when trailing by one point all have the same value. If you played the game or even just understand the game at anything more than the most basic level then you know that all baskets don't have the same value, and you know that there are many players who will happily attempt the first two kinds of shots but want no part of attempting a shot when trailing in the closing seconds of a game.
Anthony Edwards was Minnesota's only other double figure scorer (18 points on 5-13 field goal shooting, game-high nine rebounds), and after the game he candidly admitted that he did not shoot the ball often enough. From a percentage standpoint, Edwards' 5-13 field goal shooting and Gilgeous-Alexander's 10-27 field goal shooting are virtually identical, but the reality of championship level basketball is that a team's star player has an obligation to be productive even more so than he has an obligation to be "efficient." Edwards is right that he should have shot more often, and he deserves credit for admitting that, as opposed to some stars who use passive/aggressive language to deflect attention away from their flawed performances and toward their teammates' real or imagined shortcomings. It is the star's responsibility to lead the way; that is why the stars get the big bucks and most of the credit when things go well.
The Timberwolves are at their best when they attack the paint, but they played an out of character game by attempting 51 three point shots and only 32 two point shots; such a drastic imbalance is not a recipe for success for any team, and particularly not a team whose strength is its size and strength. The Timberwolves went small in the fourth quarter--center Rudy Gobert did not play at all--and the Thunder outscored them, 38-22. Going small against a team that feeds off of turnovers and open court play did not go well and will not go well. The simple fact is that teams that play small ball do not win NBA titles. Even the Golden State Warriors teams that won four NBA titles from 2015-22 had serviceable big men who played consistent rotation minutes, not to mention that the "small forward" on two of their championship teams is actually seven feet tall.
It is not likely--although not impossible--that the Thunder will win every game by double digit margins, but it seems improbable that any team in the NBA can win four games out of seven versus the Thunder. Their season-long statistical profile screams "NBA Champion," and the eye test suggests that only one of the great teams from the past could withstand the combination of the Thunder's relentless defensive pressure and efficient offensive execution that does not rely on jacking up three pointers.
Labels: Anthony Edwards, Jalen Williams, Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
posted by David Friedman @ 1:16 AM
Oklahoma City Versus Minnesota Preview
Western Conference Finals
#1 Oklahoma City (68-14) vs. #6 Minnesota (49-33)
Season series: Tied, 2-2
Minnesota can win if… Anthony Edwards is the best player in the series, if the Timberwolves control the paint, and if the Timberwolves are not careless with the ball.
Edwards averaged a team-high 26.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg (second on the team), and 5.6 apg (second on the team) in Minnesota's 4-1 second round series win versus the Golden State Warriors. Julius Randle also had an outstanding series versus the Warriors, leading the team in assists (7.4 apg) while ranking second in scoring (25.2 ppg) and third in rebounding (6.6 rpg). A lot of nonsense is spouted about why the Timberwolves should reduce Rudy Gobert's role, but Gobert dominated the paint against the Warriors, averaging 9.6 ppg on .643 field goal shooting while leading Minnesota in rebounding (9.4 rpg) and blocked shots (1.8 bpg).
The Timberwolves are a big, physical team, so it is not surprising that
they rank second in the playoffs in points allowed (101.1 ppg) and
fourth in defensive field goal percentage (.433). Gobert anchors the defense in the paint, while Jaden McDaniels is a stopper on the wing. Donte DiVincenzo (team-high 1.7 spg in the playoffs) and Edwards are good defenders, and veteran point guard Mike Conley is a savvy player at both ends of the court.
The Timberwolves reached the Western Conference Finals last year by knocking off the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets,
so it should not be surprising that they are in the Western Conference
Finals again--but they had a .500 record (17-17) on January 4, and that
sluggish start may have made a lasting impression on commentators even
though the Timberwolves went 8-1 to end the season. I count myself among those who underestimated them before the playoffs began.
They have committed the fifth most turnovers per game (14.8) among this year's 16 playoff teams; the four teams that committed more turnovers per game--Memphis, Detroit, Miami, and Denver--have been eliminated, with all but Denver losing in the first round. Poor decision making in general and careless ballhandling in particular are two major areas of concern for Minnesota. The Timberwolves rank fourth in playoff field goal percentage (.465) and sixth in scoring (108.2 ppg), so when they take care of the ball they score very efficiently.
Oklahoma City will win because…the Thunder are more talented, deeper, more athletic, and more efficient.
The skepticism about the Thunder is increasingly difficult to understand: they have a great player who is unselfish and plays at a high level on offense and on defense, they have a talented and well-balanced starting lineup, and they may have the league's deepest bench. They posted one of the best regular season records in NBA history (68-14) and set the all-time record for point differential (12.9 ppg), breaking a mark (12.3 ppg) held by the legendary 1971-72 L.A. Lakers team that featured Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Gail Goodrich.
The Denver Nuggets fought valiantly to push the Thunder to seven games in the second round, but the
Thunder overwhelmed the Nuggets 125-93 in game seven. During that series, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder in minutes (37.6 mpg), scoring (29.7 ppg), and assists (6.6 apg) while also averaging 6.4 rpg (third on the team), 1.6 spg (tied for second on the team), and .6 bpg (tied for fourth on the team). His shooting splits were .529/.333/.825. Last season, he finished second in regular season MVP voting to three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, and it is reasonable to believe that he will finish first ahead of Jokic this season. Gilgeous-Alexander is not flashy--his game does not feature an abundance of dunks, three pointers, or fancy moves--but his game is brutally efficient and fundamentally sound at both ends of the court. The Thunder appear to have exquisite team chemistry, and as the team's best player and unquestioned leader Gilgeous-Alexander deserves a lot of credit for that.
In 2025, Jalen Williams made the All-Star team for the first time, and he set career-highs in scoring (21.6 ppg), rebounding (5.3 rpg), and assists (5.1 apg). He has been inconsistent during the playoffs, with scoring totals ranging from 6 to 32, but overall he has been productive, ranking second on the team in scoring (19.6 ppg) and assists (5.7 apg) while ranking fourth in rebounding (5.4 rpg). The Thunder will need for him to score 20-plus ppg versus the Timberwolves.
The rail-thin Chet Holmgren is the Thunder's third leading playoff scorer (15.7 ppg), and he leads the team in rebounding (9.7 rpg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg). The big and rugged Isaiah Hartenstein leads the team in playoff field goal percentage (.605) while also ranking second in rebounding (8.7 rpg) and fourth in assists (2.8 apg); he is not only a lob threat at the rim but he can also run the offense at times from the high post, passing to cutters.
Alex Caruso is the Thunder's oldest player (31 years old) and the only player on the team with championship experience. He is a feisty and smart defensive player who leads the team in playoff steals (1.8 spg) while also shooting .417 from three point range. His scrappy post defense versus Jokic in game seven contributed to the Thunder run that broke the game open.
Other things to consider: In my 2024 Western Conference Finals Preview, I praised the way that the Timberwolves constructed their team:
While other franchises try to "tank to the top" or assemble "super teams," the Timberwolves built their roster organically. Tim
Connelly, who laid the foundation of the Denver Nuggets' championship
success before becoming Minnesota's President of Basketball Operations, assembled the Timberwolves' roster with the understanding that size matters in the NBA at both ends of the court. "Stat gurus" mocked Connelly's trade for
Rudy Gobert, but Connelly did not panic after the Timberwolves lost 4-1
to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 playoffs. Connelly ignored the noise
about Gobert being unplayable in today's "pace and space" NBA--noise
that could still be heard during the second round of this year's
playoffs before the Timberwolves won games six and seven to send the
Nuggets home for the summer.
In contrast, the Thunder tanked for two seasons (2020-22). Historically, it has been proven that tanking does not work, so if the Thunder cap their tremendous season with a championship then they will be the first NBA team to "tank to the top" (the premature and inaccurate description applied to Philadelphia's disastrous tanking)--but what the Thunder did differs from what most other tanking teams did because the Thunder did not embrace tanking and denied (and still deny) that they ever tanked; it could be argued that this is a distinction without a difference, but one of the problems with tanking is that it infects a franchise with a losing culture by accepting the notion that trying to win every game does not matter. The 76ers embraced what they called "The Process," and their franchise still displays a losing mentality on and off of the court, as demonstrated by--among other things--load management, and key players not being in peak condition. In contrast, the Thunder made personnel moves that strongly suggested that they were tanking but those moves could also be interpreted as their attempt to build the best roster around budding young star Gilgeous-Alexander. There is no doubt that Coach Mark Daigneault has cultivated a winning culture, and it appears that he started doing so from day one, even when he was saddled with a roster that was not capable of winning very much.
Hopefully, if the Thunder win an NBA title this will not be considered a justification of tanking, because tanking cheats paying fans while demeaning and diminishing the value of competition. The NBA was much better when load management and tanking did not exist.
Regardless of how one feels about how the Thunder assembled their team, there is no denying how strong this team is, nor is there any denying that the Thunder have the edge in this matchup in the most relevant categories: the Thunder have the best player in the series (if not the entire league), they have a better offense, they led the NBA in defensive field goal percentage during the regular season and during the playoffs, and they have enough size to match up with any team.
Oklahoma City will defeat Minnesota in six games.
Labels: Alex Caruso, Anthony Edwards, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahama City Thunder, Rudy Gobert, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
posted by David Friedman @ 8:46 PM
Thunder Crush Nuggets 125-93, Advance to Western Conference Finals
The Denver Nuggets won game six at home to push the Oklahoma City Thunder to the brink, but the Thunder dominated game seven, 125-93, to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2016. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander authored another exceptional performance, pouring in a game-high 35 points (just three short of his playoff career-high) on 12-19 field goal shooting while dishing out four assists. Jalen Williams, who struggled for significant portions of this series, scored 24 points and passed for a game-high tying seven assists. Chet Holmgren added 13 points and a game-high tying 11 rebounds. Alex Caruso chipped in 11 points on 5-7 field goal shooting, but his game-high +40 plus/minus number hints at the large impact that he had beyond the boxscore numbers: he was a menace as an on-ball defender versus Denver's perimeter players, he swarmed the passing lanes as a help defender, and on several possessions he even guarded Nikola Jokic one on one.
Jokic had a solid game by normal human standards--20 points, nine rebounds, game-high tying seven assists--but the Thunder's suffocating defense shut down his teammates without giving him the space to do much damage as a scorer. Jokic had a game-high five turnovers, and it often looked like the
Thunder had an extra defensive player on the court; the Nuggets
struggled to complete a pass, and they shot just 33-84 (.393) from the field, including 10-45 (.222) from three point range. Christian Braun scored 19 points on 7-14 field goal shooting. Aaron Gordon limped through a grade two hamstring strain--Jokic said that he told Gordon to not play because he risked making the injury even more serious--to finish with eight points and a game-high tying 11 rebounds. Jamal Murry had just 13 points on 6-16 field goal shooting. No other Nugget scored more than six points, and it is worth noting that Gilgeous-Alexander outscored the Nuggets' top two players--Jokic and Murray--by himself.
Russell Westbrook is the eighth highest paid Nugget ($3.3 million, the minimum salary for a 10 year veteran), but the "experts" and the
social media crowd will no doubt find some way to pin the loss on him.
I've never heard of a team's eighth highest paid player being the
deciding factor between winning and losing as the fourth seeded team versus a dominant top seeded 68 win
team, but ridiculous anti-Westbrook narratives have become standard fare
in NBA circles. For the series, Westbrook ranked fifth on the team in scoring (9.9 ppg), eighth in rebounds (2.7 rpg), sixth in minutes played (22.7 mpg), and tied for fourth in assists (2.4 apg). He has always been a rhythm player who is used to having the ball in his hands, so those numbers are in line with his role and his salary slot. His shooting splits (.348/.219/.696) were poor, but only three Nuggets who played rotation minutes shot better than .440 from the field (Nikola Jokic, Julian Strawther, Aaron Gordon) so the Thunder deserve credit for shutting down the Nuggets' offense. Westbrook averaged 11.7 ppg in the 2025 playoffs (fifth on the team) while contributing 2.6 apg (fourth), 3.7 rpg (sixth) and .9 spg (fourth) with .391/.317/.700 shooting splits. Westbrook has a player option for $3.5 million next season, and it is unlikely that the cash-strapped Nuggets can find a more productive player at that price.
The Thunder outscored the Nuggets 64-42 in the paint, 27-14 on the fast break, and 37-7 in points off of turnovers. The Nuggets jumped out to a 21-10 lead at the 5:31 mark of the first quarter before the Thunder reeled them in and then ran them into the ground; the Thunder ended the second quarter with a 28-14 run to take a 60-46 halftime lead, and the Thunder opened the third quarter by outscoring the Nuggets 21-12 to end all resistance. The Thunder pushed the margin as high as 43 points late in the fourth quarter, and the outcome was never in doubt throughout the second half.
The Nuggets used their size to dominate the paint in a 121-119 game one win to seize homecourt advantage, and the Nuggets led the series 2-1 after prevailing 113-104 in game three but, as is usually the case in a seven game series, the team with the most matchup advantages prevailed. I picked the Thunder to win in six games because I expected that the Thunder's "suffocating defense will rule the day," and even though it took the Thunder seven games instead of six the seventh game highlighted the huge gap between these teams: the Thunder have the right personnel and game plan to at least contain Jokic at times, while the Nuggets can barely run a functioning halfcourt offense versus the Thunder's relentless pressure. ESPN's Scott Van Pelt often referred to the Thunder as a "wagon" during the regular season, but in game seven the Thunder looked like a high speed train racing past a broken down jalopy.
Labels: Aaron Gordon, Alex Caruso, Denver Nuggets, Jalen Williams, Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
posted by David Friedman @ 8:40 AM
