The Denver Nuggets head to Oklahoma City for a high-stakes playoff showdown Monday night, with the top-seeded Thunder looking fresh and ready after a nine-day break.
Oklahoma City enters as heavy 9.5-point favorites against the defending champions, who are coming off a grueling seven-game series against the Clippers that just wrapped up Saturday.
This Western Conference semifinal matchup features two of the NBA’s biggest stars – Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, both finalists for this year’s MVP award.
How To Watch Game 1
Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder tips off Monday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET from Paycom Center.
You can catch the action on TNT and truTV, or stream it free through Jazz Sports.
The oddsmakers have set the Thunder as 9.5-point favorites (-110).
Injury Situation
The Nuggets will be without rookie center DaRon Holmes II, who’s sidelined for the season with an Achilles injury.
Oklahoma City enters the series completely healthy.
What To Expect
These teams split their regular season series 2-2, including back-to-back games in Oklahoma City in March. The Thunder dominated one night with a 127-103 win, but Denver bounced back the very next day, winning 140-127.
But a lot has changed since then. Denver made the shocking move to fire coach Michael Malone late in the season, completely changing their approach.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been a problem for Denver, averaging 30.3 points and 6.5 assists in their four meetings this season.
Jokic, meanwhile, has been his usual triple-double self. The three-time MVP posted two triple-doubles against the Thunder during the regular season and dropped 35 points on an efficient 15-of-20 shooting in their last matchup.
“You have to account for the fact that he’s gonna come in the game ready to rock and the pace of the game is gonna go up,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said about Russell Westbrook, who’s making his return to OKC as a member of the Nuggets.
This is actually the first playoff meeting between these teams since 2011, when Oklahoma City knocked out Denver in five games. Interestingly, Westbrook was with the Thunder back then, averaging 6.0 points and 6.0 assists in that series.
The numbers favor Oklahoma City, with ESPN’s Basketball Power Index giving the Thunder a 75.4% chance of winning the series.
Denver has struggled recently against OKC, going just 2-5 in their last seven meetings, while the Thunder ride into the series on an impressive eight-game winning streak.
