For the first time in the Nikola Jokic era, the Denver Nuggets will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in a playoff series.
And for the second series in a row, the Nuggets go into the best-of-seven affair as decided underdogs, with BetMGM setting the top-seeded Thunder as -800 favorites to win the series as of Sunday afternoon.
The series will also be a referendum of sorts on the NBA MVP race, with the likely top two finishers facing off in OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Jokic. The winner will be announced during the series.
Oklahoma City is coming off a four-game sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies, while the Nuggets just survived a seven-game war thanks in part to the contributions of former Thunder superstar Russell Westbrook. The two teams split their regular-season series 2-2, including a two-game split in Oklahoma City on March 9 and 10.
The full television schedule for the best-of-seven series is not yet set, but the first four games have been scheduled. Here’s a look:
Nuggets at Thunder, Game 1: Monday, May 5
7:30 p.m. MT, TNT/truTV
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City
Game 2: Wednesday, May 7
7:30 p.m. MT, TNT/truTV
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City
Game 3: Friday, May 7
8 p.m. MT, ESPN
Ball Arena, Denver
Game 4: Sunday, May 11
1:30 p.m. MT, ABC
Ball Arena, Denver
Game 5 (if necessary): TBD
Time, TV channel TBD
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City
Game 6 (if necessary): TBD
Time, TV channel TBD
Ball Arena, Denver
Game 7 (if necessary): TBD
Time, TV channel TBD
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City
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