Advancing to another best-of-seven in the Western conference finals ... for which Game 1 was scheduled roughly 48 hours later. The point being, you could forgive anyone on the Thunder for feeling pretty exhausted ahead of their WCF run vs.

The only upside is that the Thunder stayed home after their Game 7 win. They'll host three consecutive playoff games and spend most of the week in their beds. Alex Caruso has been a defensive monster for the title contender all playoffs. Like a baseball closer who gets hot in October, he's been a game-changer after a pedestrian regular season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are off to the conference finals. After a 125-93 win in Game 7 of their second-round series against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, they will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.

After Sunday's Game 7, stellar reserve Thunder guard Alex Caruso explained exactly how the Nuggets made the Thunder better over seven games. He said they made Oklahoma City mentally tougher to understand what winning in the postseason takes. In effect, in a matchup of two bona fide championship contenders, iron sharpened iron:

Alex Caruso Explains the Thunder's Decision to Trade for Him Following His Game-Changing Performance in the Playoffs.

After a nervy first quarter, the Thunder dominated the second quarter and never looked back in a 125-93 win over the Nuggets on Sunday afternoon at Paycom Center.