Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Leaps Forward In The MVP Race As The Thunder Reach The Conference Finals

(Photo by Zach Beeker/Getty Images).

The Oklahoma City Thunder eliminated the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets from the playoffs as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took the lead in being awarded the league’s MVP award.

The Canadian made it his seventh game in the 2025 NBA playoffs with more than 30 points, scoring 35 points as the Thunder protected home court, with a 125-93 victory.

Oklahoma City’s win sets up a clash in the Western Conference final against Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who return to the Conference finals for the second year.

The Thunder will open the seven-game series at home at 01:30 BST on Tuesday.

Five Thunder players finished in double figures, with the 32-point margin the largest in the seven-game series.

Jalen Williams perfectly responded to a difficult Game 6 with a near triple-double, Williams having 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Chet Holmgren had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Alex Caruso had 11 points.

But it was the Denver Nuggets that led at the end of the first quarter, 26-21, to the 2023 NBA Champions.

Christian Braun gave the Nuggets energy early on, with nine points, while Nikola Jokic was getting to the free-throw line early on, scoring six points.

Their MVP candidate, Jokic, went on to leave the visiting team in points, recording 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.

After his hot start, Braun chipped in with 19 points, while Jamal Murray, who had scored a combined 53 points in games five and six, scored just 13 points.

On the other hand, the OKC superstar young duo of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams had a combined four points at the end of the first.

(Photo by Zach Beeker/Getty Images).

But next would come a thunderstorm, Oklahoma City quickly surging into the lead in the second, before Jalen Williams hit his first three of the game with two minutes left of the quarter to mark a 7-0 Thunder run.

Williams, after a scoreless first, had 17 points in the second – the joint most points scored by the forward in a single quarter.

The home side dominantly ended the quarter, Alex Caruso displaying defensive brilliance to pick the pockets of the Nuggets.

At the break, the Thunder boasted a 60-46 lead.

Leading MVP candidate, Gilgeous-Alexander, added a quick four points at the start of the third, following a flagrant foul on Aaron Gordon.

Gordon was a doubt coming into the fixture, the power forward having sustained a hamstring injury.

Cason Wallace came up big in the third, recording 7 points on the night, before the Thunder closed off the season for the Denver Nuggets.