The Thunder respond in a crucial moment, Jalen Williams bounces back in the nick of time and the Nuggets face clear questions.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The only noises to be heard in “Loud City” early Sunday afternoon were nervous murmurs and clanging wayward jumpers, which is not at all what the Paycom Center crowd had in mind for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s biggest home game in nine years.

Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder host Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of this exciting second-round matchup. C’mon. Of course this series was going seven games. Led by strong performances from Jamal Murray (25 points),

Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James reacted to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets' Game 7.

Shai-Gilgeous Alexander scores 35 points to lead the Thunder in eliminating the Nuggets. Oklahoma City will play Minnesota in the conference finals.

Instant reaction from the Nuggets’ 125-93 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of their second-round NBA playoff series: 1. Refs let Alex Caruso expose Nuggets’ flaws: That OKC strategy ...

The two leading MVP candidates — the league has delayed handing out the actual hardware until this series ends — have lived up to the billing this series: Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 28 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists a game, adding 1.3 steals into the mix; Jokic is averaging 29.8 points, 14.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2 steals a game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Oklahoma City’s young core has reached its moment of truth. The Thunder squad that won a league-best 68 games this season can validate that regular-season success if they c