By Michael PinaMay 4, 1:39 pm UTC • 4 min

Before the Denver Nuggets obliterated the Los Angeles Clippers in a truly stunning and anticlimactic series finale, the first round’s most entertaining matchup gave us everything two legitimate championship contenders had to offer. There were instant crunch-time classics, invincible individual performances, significant adjustments, major comebacks, and, notably, several stretches where it looked like the Clippers were in the driver’s seat. 

Then Game 7 happened. Midway through the third quarter, when the Nuggets ripped the game open with an 18-0 run, all the haymakers, uppercuts, and counterpunches thrown throughout the series’ first six games washed away. L.A.’s superior depth, versatility, and offensive firepower were suddenly rendered meaningless against Denver’s championship DNA, elite shotmaking, and stingy defense that junked up the game with an active zone, fast hands, and relentless physicality. 

The way they won was weird, though. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had poor, inefficient games (by their standards), aided by a puzzling no-show from a Clippers offense that finished 8-for-27 behind the arc after getting whatever shot it wanted in the series’ first few games. (Heading into Game 7, L.A.’s offensive rating was tied with the Indiana Pacers for second best in the postseason.)

Kawhi Leonard finished with 22 points in a performance that wasn’t nearly enough. He was ultimately outplayed by Aaron Gordon, who worked him over a few times in the paint. James Harden did not outrun his big-game ghosts, making just two baskets and attempting only two free throws after an aggressive Game 6. The Nuggets threw two defenders at him quite a bit, and he handled the pressure well, finishing with 13 assists and two turnovers, but Harden also missed a few makeable shots at the basket that immediately turned into fast-break opportunities for Denver—backbreaking sequences that L.A. couldn’t recover from.

One team had to lose, but this series felt like such a wasted opportunity for the Clippers, having seemingly figured the Nuggets out after the first three games, knowing there was no rotation-related button for them to press. It’s also the end of a season in which they overachieved for the first time since Kawhi climbed aboard. They have so much to be proud of, an identity to fall back on, and, once they take a few weeks to reflect back on everything that happened this year, some confidence in knowing Leonard’s body held up when it mattered most.

The more relevant story coming out of Game 7, though, is the Nuggets. This team’s skill, cohesiveness, and resilience shined throughout the series under interim coach David Adelman, who was thrown into the fire after Michael Malone and Calvin Booth were let go just a few weeks ago. Many left them for dead, somewhat deservedly so. After the All-Star break, Denver had the eighth-worst defense in the league, and its net rating was tied with the Sacramento  

But beating the Clippers in a classic seven-game series means something. Jamal Murray’s pivotal, reputation-affirming Game 5 means something. Michael Porter Jr. playing through a sprained shoulder and drilling 44.1 percent of his 3s means something. Christian Braun hounding Harden on one end and having the energy and confidence to attack in transition and make wide-open 3s means something. Gordon’s general two-way badassery on a sore calf that (in his own words after Game 3) prohibited him from jumping, followed by the most dramatic dunk of the season, means something. Russell Westbrook giving more than he taketh away means something. Being only plus-29 with Jokic on the court over seven games and winning four of them means something.

There’s a toughness about these Nuggets, as thin and flawed and almost universally dependent on Jokic as they might be. To Adelman, there would be no conference semifinals without how they played at the very end of the regular season, in must-win games to avoid a potential drop into the play-in tournament. “The last three games we won in the regular season to give ourselves a chance to be in this building for this kind of game is a huge deal,” he said. 

Now they face the 68- Oklahoma City Thunder, a buzz saw that barely broke a sweat in a first-round sweep against the Memphis Grizzlies. Game 1 tips Monday, and OKC will be rested, healthy, and armed with a roster that was intentionally built to make Jokic’s life miserable. The Thunder signed Isaiah Hartenstein for a few reasons, but the most important is the heft he’s able to provide in this specific playoff matchup, allowing Chet Holmgren to roam off Gordon and not get pummeled in the post. 

Similar to the Clippers, the Thunder have a long, punishing, scrappy defense that lives to force turnovers and protect the rim. They don’t care about limiting 3s so much as making their opponent work exceptionally hard to create open ones. It’s a fascinating uphill battle for the Nuggets: an elite offense that eschews outside shots for lob dunks and cutting layups.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a maestro. Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso will do everything in their power to curtail Murray’s production, and the Murray-Jokic two-man game will have its work cut out for it against a team that will study how the Clippers switched that action and believes it can have just as much success doing so. The Nuggets have a few cards to play, with Gordon as a backup 5 and more non-Jokic lineups that feature multiple starters. 

But this is by far the most impressive team Denver has faced in the playoffs since Jokic and Murray have been teammates. Victory isn’t impossible, though the Nuggets will need the exact type of group effort that was on display in Game 7—for just about every possession—to prevail.

“This is a memorable series,” Adelman said on Saturday night. “We just don’t really have time right now to remember it. Enjoy tonight. You know, have a glass of red wine or whatever you like doing. But we fly to OKC tomorrow.”

Michael Pina

Michael Pina is a senior staff writer at The Ringer who covers the NBA.