Game 7 was far from a shootout between Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell that everyone had hoped for. Instead, what was a convincing halftime lead imploded and turned into a near slog in the trenches between Nikola Jokic and Rudy Gobert. In the end, Denver barely, barely, barely held on as a boneheaded blown layup nearly cost the Nuggets the series when Mike Conley missed a game winning three as time expired. Final score: Nuggets 80, Jazz 78.
Malone ran with the same starting lineup to surprising results.