Oklahoma City Thunder book first conference final berth since 2016

The GIST: After a whirlwind two rounds of high-stakes basketball, it’s on to the conference finals. The Eastern Conference action, featuring a pair of dragon slayers in the NY Knicks and Indiana Pacers, doesn’t tip off until Wednesday, so today’s all about the West. Let’s hoop to it.

👊 Oklahoma City Thunder crush injury-riddled Denver Nuggets: Game 7s are usually down-to-the-wire, but yesterday’s 125–93 OKC win was anything but — the Thunder rebounded from a slow start to punch the franchise’s first conference finals ticket since 2016. MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 35 points, but this was a team dub with five players netting double-digit points.

• Still, the Nuggets deserve their flowers. Of course, Nikola Jokić was his MVP-caliber self, while Aaron “the heart of Denver hoops” Gordon battled through a Grade 2 hamstring strain to record eight points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes. Unimaginable.

🐺 Minnesota Timberwolves — rested or rusty? While the Thunder just played a full seven-game set, the Wolves have been waiting in the wings after wrapping up their second-round series against the Golden State Warriors in just five games. Now, they’ll head to OKC for tomorrow’s 8:30 p.m. ET Game 1, with hopes of knocking off the top-seeded and historically good squad.

• Anthony Edwards and the Wolves are underdogs in this one, but these canines aren’t afraid of a little Thunder: In the last two seasons, they’ve sent superstars like Phoenix Suns Kevin Durant and Devin Booker and LA Lakers Luka Dončić and LeBron James packing. Woof.