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The No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets (54-28; 3-3) host the No. 7 seed San Antonio Spurs in a winner-take-all Game 7 matchup in the Mile High City to conclude their Western Conference First Round series at Pepsi Center on Saturday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. ET and will be televised on TNT. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of TNT on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages, all of which include TNT, but if you plan on keeping Vue for the rest of the NBA playoffs, you can get the “Core” bundle (65-plus channels, including ESPN, TNT and NBA TV) for $10 off your first two months right now.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
TNT is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game (and other programs) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including TNT.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Spurs vs Nuggets Game 7 Preview
This will be just the third Game 7 in franchise history for Denver. In the Nuggets’ two previous Game 7 appearances, they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1977-78 Western Conference Semifinals, and lost to the Utah Jazz in the same round in 1993-94; Denver, as a No. 8 seed in 1993-94, upset the No. 1 seed Seattle Supersonics in five games in the first round.
Contrast the Nuggets’ relative winner-take-all playoff game inexperience with the Spurs’ experience. 22 consecutive postseason trips for San Antonio, in fact. That is something that Nuggets head coach Mike Malone will need to keep in mind as he formulates a winning Game 7 strategy for Denver to combat.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich once again made adjustments heading into Game 6. Most notably, gave his two stars — DeMar DeRozan, who scored 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting, and LaMarcus Aldridge, who recorded a double-double with a team-high 26 points and 10 rebounds — the bulk of available minutes, while evenly distributing the rest. The end was result was a 19-point bench performance from veteran swingman Rudy Gay, and a 120-103 victory setting the stage for Game 7.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was sensational, falling one assist shy of a triple-double. Jokic scored 43 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and recorded nine assists. Jokic’s 43-point performance was the third-highest total in the postseason thus far, falling shy of Damian Lillard (50) and Kevin Durant (45).
Veteran Paul Millsap is the only Nuggets rotation player who has been involved in meaningful playoff games over the past few seasons. Isiah Thomas was acquired, but hasn’t seen minutes. Millsap’s presence and tenacity will be a useful asset going against a veteran-laden Spurs team, who has seen several players battle through previous playoff series before.
“You’ve got to play a perfect basketball game. The team that comes out and executes more, the team that’s more physical, the team that’s more aggressive, I think they’re going to win the game,”
Millsap told reporters on Friday.
The 34-year old Millsap, who is a four-time NBA All-Star and going against the grain with his opinion here, added there is actually more pressure on the Spurs:
“All the pressure is on them. This is why we fought so hard for home-court advantage. No pressure on us.”
This has been one of the chalkiest opening rounds in NBA Playoff history. If Denver, and Golden State, advance to the Western Conference Second Round, this will mark the first time since 2008 that all eighth higher-seeded teams moved on.