Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and young Thunder to face Nikola Jokic and experienced Nuggets in West semis

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the young Oklahoma City Thunder must go through a Denver Nuggets team that already has done it all if they want to cap off their fantastic regular season with an NBA championship.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray led the Nuggets to the title in 2023, and they helped Denver outlast the Los Angeles Clippers 4-3 in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Nuggets rolled past the Clippers 120-101 in Game 7 on Saturday night.

Though Oklahoma City had the league’s best record at 68-14, that won’t matter when the Thunder host the Nuggets in Game 1 of the West semifinals on Monday night.

"They have championship-caliber players, Hall of Fame players," Thunder reserve guard Alex Caruso said. "They're experienced, they've been there. I think that showed in Game 7 the other night. They didn't blink. They kind of rose to the occasion. We're going to need our best, obviously, to beat them. We're looking forward to the challenge."

Denver must recover quickly to face a rested Thunder team that swept Memphis in the first round.

"Feel blessed to get out of this thing,” Denver interim coach David Adelman said Saturday. "This is a memorable series. We just don't really have time right now to remember it."

Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic are MVP finalists, and there’s a good chance the winner will be announced during this series.

Both teams believe their star deserves to win.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in scoring 32.7 points per game on 52% shooting. Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren noted the conventional wisdom that says the team with the best player wins the series.

"I like that theory because I think no matter what series we're in, we've got the best player,” Holmgren said. "I'll roll with that one."

Denver’s Christian Braun said Jokic had a special season. Jokic averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists.

"Shai's an amazing player, so there's obviously no wrong choice," Braun said. "But to see what Nikola did night in and night out - I don't know if you'll ever see that again. Hits big shots, takes 3s, scores every time in the paint, he was great for us defensively. I just think that the way he played this year, you might not ever see a complete and full season like Nikola had this year."

There are plenty of players to watch beyond the two stars.

Jalen Williams also was an All-Star for the Thunder. He averaged 23.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the series against Memphis.

Holmgren, the runner-up for Rookie of the Year last season, is back and playing well after missing more than half the season with a hip injury. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks against the Grizzlies.

Denver counters with Murray and Aaron Gordon. Murray always seems to raise his game in the playoffs and averaged 22.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists against Los Angeles. Gordon averaged 18.9 points and 5.7 rebounds against the Clippers.

Oklahoma City will face former Thunder star Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook began his career in Oklahoma City, and he became a fan favorite as he kept the franchise afloat after Kevin Durant left in 2016. During his nine-year run with the Thunder, Westbrook was the MVP in 2017 and a two-time scoring champion who averaged a triple-double three times.

Westbrook has remained involved in the Oklahoma City community, and he routinely draws cheers as an opposing player.

"That's like home for me,” he said. “I always got love for everybody there, the people, the fans. I know it's mutual. But they also know the reason why they do love me, because I compete at a high level, and I do that every night. So that's all I can do, is going out there and be myself and compete, try to go out and steal one there."

Adelman stepped in late in the season after the Nuggets fired championship-winning coach Michael Malone, leaving a bit of mystery about how Denver will play in the final minutes of close games.

Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said he doesn’t expect much to change, noting that Adelman was a longtime assistant under Malone and the switch was made late in the season.

Daigneault said the seven-game series against the Clippers will only be so helpful.

"Good data point, and it gives you a great understanding of how they play against the Clippers,” he said. "But it doesn't give you a great understanding of how they play against us. So it's something we can learn from, but this series will have its own face and will unfold in its own way."

The Thunder had nine players average at least 13 minutes in the first round. Caruso averaged 20.8 minutes, Cason Wallace 20.5, Isaiah Joe 16.3 and Aaron Wiggins 13.8 as reserves.

Denver doesn't always go deep into its bench, but the Nuggets are capable of getting production from plenty of guys. The Nuggets had six players score at least 15 points in Game 7 against the Clippers, a first in a Game 7 in NBA playoff history.