Alex Caruso's shutdown defense on Nikola Jokic boosts Oklahoma City Thunder to Game 7 win over Denver Nuggets.

Michael Malone, who was fired by the Denver Nuggets with three games remaining in the regular season, will join ESPN for coverage of the Western Conference finals.

The Denver Nuggets are only two seasons removed from claiming the NBA title, but it feels a lot longer ago, doesn't it?

As the Thunder avalanched the Nuggets in the second quarter, Williams was the snowball that rolled downhill. He scored 17 points in the frame alone. The 24-year-old got into a flow and was a threat in transition. After Denver turned it over every other possession, he broke off from the rest for buckets.

Alex Caruso plays basketball like he’s trying to score a $50,000 bonus from Dana White. That said, the Nuggets probably could use, at minimum, two of him. Or two more of something relatively close to him if they’re to get the Joker another title in Denver before the horse is out of the barn.

Now throw that context into the career of a 17-year veteran like the Denver Nuggets' Russell Westbrook. The explosive, still useful, and still volatile guard is a no-doubt future Basketball Hall of Famer. However, he has yet to win an NBA championship at 36 years old, and you have to imagine that's quite frustrating in itself.

David Adelman took over the Denver Nuggets with just a few regular season games remaining, as long-time head coach Michael Malone was sacked, alongside general manager Calvin Boothe. Despite heading into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with an interim head coach, the Nuggets made some noise.

After winning an NBA title his first year in the league, Christian Braun’s Denver Nuggets have failed to reach the Western Conference finals in his second and third seasons as a pro basketball player. So how close are the Nuggets to reclaiming championship status?