Nuggets and Thunder advance to the 2024 Western Conference semifinals

Jamal Murray (YouTube)

Two more National Basketball Association franchises joined the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals on Monday. They were the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets.

What was most fascinating about the Thunder and Nuggets was the fact that both franchises were led by a Canadian on Monday. The Thunder co-leading scorer in game four was point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Toronto, Ontario, who had 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 97-89 Thunder win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Nuggets leading scorer in game five was point guard Jamal Murray of Kitchener, Ontario, who had 32 points, including the game-winning basket with four seconds left in the fourth quarter, in a 108-106 Nuggets win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

All five Thunder starters reached double digits in points. Power forward Jalen Williams of Denver, Colorado had 24 points, shooting guard Josh Giddey of Melbourne, Australia and center Chet Holmgren of Minneapolis, Minnesota had 14 points each, and small forward Luguentz Dort of Montreal, Quebec had 11 points. It was the fourth quarter that was the Thunder’s best as they outscored the Pelicans 27-18 to win the series four games to none. This was the first time since 2012 that the Thunder swept a playoff series. A dozen years ago the Thunder swept the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Meanwhile in Denver, there were only three Nuggets which reached double digits in points. Small forward Michael Porter Jr. of Indianapolis, Indiana had 26 points, and center Nikola Jokic of Sombor, Serbia had the impressive 20-20 double-double (25 pounds and 20 rebounds). Meanwhile, power forward Aaron Gordon of San Jose, California had 13 rebounds.