Russell Westbrook and the Denver Nuggets used a 15-0 third-quarter run to clinch the series in a 120-101 Game 7 win against the Los Angeles Clippers to advance to the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After walking off the floor, Westbrook sent a message to the Thunder and their fans.

Westbrook applauded his team for winning their series 4-3 and told people to prepare for round twi, per the NBA on X, formerly Twitter.

“Good close-out win, get ready for the next round,” Westbrook said. “OKC here we come.”

Westbrook spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Thunder. He was traded to the Houston Rockets in 2019 but is still revered by Thunder fans. Westbrook still receives standing ovations whenever he returns to the Paycom Center, including the Nuggets’ two-game mini-series against the Thunder toward the end of the 2024-25 regular season.

Westbrook led the bench with 16 points, five assists, and five steals in Saturday’s win. All five Nuggets starters scored in double figures, including Aaron Gordon’s 22 points and Christian Braun’s 21 points, while MVP candidate Nikola Jokic (10 rebounds, eight assists) and Jamal Murray added 16 points each.

Jamal Murray reveals how Nuggets’ third quarter sealed Game 7

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The Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference semifinals after a lopsided Game 7 victory against the Clippers. After the win, Jamal Murray explained the Nuggets’ third-quarter approach after halftime that led to a 15-0 Nuggets run with Russell Westbrook. For Murray, Denver’s aggressive approach changed the complexion of the game.

Murray says setting the tone early and often in the second half led to a blowout victory in Game 7, per NBA on TNT’s Stephanie Ready.

“We just wanted to come out of the half aggressive and just play fast,” Murray said. “We did that, and we forced [Los Angeles] to call a couple of timeouts, and we never looked back.”

The Nuggets will face the Thunder in Game 1 of the second round on Monday night.