The OKC Thunder have reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the Russell Westbrook-Kevin Durant era and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the man of the moment.
Despite his calm demeanour, SGA was anxious during his side’s dominant Game 7 125-93 victory.
“I was nervous, to be honest,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Just knowing what was on the line. …To know if you don’t bring your A-game, it could all be over. But I think that nervousness motivated me.”
SGA scored a game-high 35 points, but Oklahoma didn’t start the game well.
The turnaround happened in the second quarter as the Thunder went on an 18-5 run in the final 3:11 of the half for a 60-46 lead.
“I think the nerves were natural,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We actually shot horribly to start the game. But I knew we were getting really good looks, and if we just stuck with it, we would loosen up and the ball would find the basket.
“I never was worried about this, the way we started. Once I felt the flow of the game and we had the right intentions and the right energy, I knew it would turn around.”
Alex Caruso was a huge difference-maker for the Thunder, stopping Nikola Jokic in his tracks with his lockdown defense and just generally putting the big man off.
Caruso defended Jokic for 40 half-court matchups in Game 7, the most by a guard on Jokic in ANY game of his career – according to Genius IQ,
“It’s a lot of hard work,” Caruso said. “Obviously, he’s a phenomenal player. His résumé speaks for itself, but he’s a difficult matchup because he just does so many different things to get others involved and to influence the game.
“So, for me, it’s just about competing … being relentless with my energy, the effort to make it tough on him, and obviously the guys around me did a good job of helping and swarming that because I’m not doing that on my own.”
Now, OKC will face the Timberwolves, a young team just as hungry to progress.
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