Basketball: Jokic’s Brilliance Forces Nuggets-Thunder To Game 7

Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and recorded 14 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-107 to force a decisive seventh game in their Western Conference semi-final series.

Denver headed into Thursday’s match 3-2 down in the series after squandering late leads in games five and six, but fought back after half-time to earn a trip to Oklahoma City for Game seven on Sunday, 18 May at 14:30 local time (20:30 BST).

“To win that [fourth] quarter, after what’s happened the last two games, says a lot of our guys and the fact that they can bounce back from anything – I keep saying that,” said Denver interim coach David Adelman. “We just keep finding our way.”

Jamal Murray shook off an illness to produce 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Christian Braun added 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Julian Strawther came off the bench to score 15 points, his postseason career high.

The Nuggets needed a seventh game to eliminate the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points for the Thunder, who ended the regular season top of the Western Conference with a 68-14 record.

Chet Holmgren wound up with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Luguentz Dort, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace scored 10 points apiece.

The Minnesota Timberwolves await either Denver or Oklahoma City in the Western Conference final – last year they defeated the Nuggets in game seven of the Western Conference semi-finals.

Bbc.com