Oklahoma City wrapped up the No. 1 overall seed with a win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, making the final two games inconsequential for the reigning NBA champions.
The Denver Nuggets, on the other hand, have something to play for when they host the Thunder on Friday night.
Denver (52-28) leads the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 3 seed, which would mean avoiding the Thunder (64-16) in the second round should both make it that far. The Nuggets have won 10 in a row for the first time in 13 years to climb into third place, and close out their home schedule against Oklahoma City.
They finish the season Sunday night in San Antonio, which has locked up the No. 2 seed.
The Thunder have won the first three matchups between the teams, the last one on March 9 when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3-pointer at the horn to win it, part of a streak of winning 19 of their last 20 overall to hold off the Spurs for the top seed.
“It’s impressive,” Gilgeous-Alexander said after the win over the Clippers. “Obviously, none of it means anything if you don’t win in the end, and you know that. But teams that win in the end have some of the same characteristics and traits and check off the same boxes.
“So checking off those boxes is kind of just like knowing we’re headed in the right direction,” he continued. “Obviously, we’re far from the finish line of where we want to go, but like I said, it lets us know we’re heading right there.”
Oklahoma City is trying to league’s first repeat winner since Golden State in 2017-18, and Gilgeous-Alexander, who is second in the NBA in scoring at 31.1 points a game, is favored to win his second straight MVP.
The Thunder may choose to rest some of their top players on Friday night, which would benefit Denver. The Nuggets, who have won their last 10 home games, are surging at the right time of the year despite needing rallies to beat bad teams.
“I think some of the wins have been better than others, we’ve played better,” guard Christian Braun said after Denver rallied to beat the visiting Memphis Grizzlies. “In this league, a win’s a win. You’ve got to find a way to string them together however you can get them. We’ve done a good job of doing that. Now we’ve got to keep it going.”
One of Gilgeous-Alexander’s main competitors for league MVP is Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets center is averaging a triple-double for the second straight season (27.8 points, 12.9 rebounds and 10.9 assists) and is poised to become the first player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding and assists.
Last season, Denver took the Thunder to seven games in the second round but feel better equipped for a longer playoff run this time. The Nuggets are deeper, with the ability to go nine or 10 deep when fully healthy if guard Peyton Watson and forward Spencer Jones can return from hamstring injuries for the postseason.
