Oklahoma City Thunder advance to the next round as the Denver Nuggets fall to a late charge by Kevin Durant
On Wednesday night, the Oklahoma City (OKC) Thunder progressed to the Western Conference semi-finals with a 100-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets at the Oklahoma
City Arena. The Nuggets had saved themselves from elimination in the last game but failed to repeat their heroics on the night.
Kevin Durant (KD), with a game-high 41 points, was the hero for the Thunder as they rallied late to take down the Nuggets and move on to the next round. On a night
in which they needed big performances from at least a couple of players, the Nuggets toiled hard but failed to find an inspiring performance from any single player. Although five players got into double figures, not a single one of them crossed 15 points.
Arron Afflalo was the top scorer with 15.
In a fairly even game, Denver looked like the better team but the scores always remained very close. Denver had a good first quarter, but could not pull away from
OKC. Two tight quarters followed as both teams traded shots. Big things were expected of Russell Westbrook in this game, but Denver did a good job of restricting his output, leaving the scoring burden on Kevin Durant. Serge Ibaka also had a particularly hard
time, scoring a solitary point in the game.
Denver started the fourth quarter with a lot of zest and took the game to OKC. The Thunder seemed to fold under the pressure, as Denver took a 9 point lead, the largest
in the game, with four minutes to go. At that point it looked as if the series will be extended to at least another game, but Kevin Durant had other ideas.
In the final four minutes of the game, the Oklahoma crowd watched in wonder as KD singlehandedly turned the game on its head. Denver, who had been shaky down the
stretch throughout the stretch throughout the series, once again shut down completely when it really mattered. Durant showed them the value of a big game performer who can grab a game by the scruff of its neck, the likes of which Denver desperately need.
Kevin Durant came up big when it mattered as he scored 14 of Oklahoma’s last 18 points. His late assault included the game winning jumper, as the Thunder roared onto
a18-6 spurt in the last four minutes. Durant’s brilliance ended Denver’s season, propelling OKC to the next round and with such a phenomenal player on their side, they will be a threat to anyone.
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