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It has been a long time coming, but the Denver Nuggets have finally moved past the first round. Denver finally booked its ticket to the Western Conference semi-finals after their 90-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7.
The last time the Nuggets won a first round series was in 2009. Moreover, this is just the franchise's second first round series win in 25 years.
The 1994 team that moved past the first round was that infamous Nuggets squad that pulled off the major upset and knocked off the top-seeded Seattle Supersonics, a first in NBA history.
The 2009 Nuggets featured a prime Carmelo Anthony and a slew of veterans Chauncey Billups and Kenyon Martin. That team went as far as the Western Conference Finals, where they eventually bowed down to the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
Since then, Denver's seasons have ended either in the first round or at the final game of the regular season.
After missing the playoffs entirely for the past six seasons, Denver finally made strides this season and exceeded expectations by securing the number two seed. Despite having the higher seed, some still doubted Nuggets, especially being matched up against the Gregg Popovich-led Spurs. San Antonio certainly took it to the Nuggets and extended the series to the distance.
Nevertheless, the Nuggets gutted it out in Game 7 and got it done. This is a breakthrough series win for this young Denver squad that mostly features playoff first timers.
All-Star big man Nikola Jokic led Denver with a 21-point, 15-rebound, 10-assists triple-double performance. Spitfire guard Jamal Murray top-scored for the Nuggets with 23 points. But one of those 23 were bigger than his dagger one-legged floater with 36 seconds remaining.
Like the 2009 team, these 2018-19 Denver Nuggets is also looking to make a deep run and advance to the Western Conference Finals. But that will surely be a challenge with the red-hot Portland Trailblazers in their path.
