Denver Nuggets: 15 greatest playoff moments of all-time

11. David Thompson’s 35 staves off elimination vs. SuperSonics

• 1978 Western Conference Finals, Game 5
• May 14, 1978 (McNichols Sports Arena, Denver Colorado)
• Denver Nuggets 123, Seattle SuperSonics 114

Denver had only been in the NBA for two seasons, but the Nuggets were already making some noise in the Western Conference in 1978. Two years removed from playing in the last ABA Finals, the Nuggets earned a No. 2 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, as well as a bye to the conference semifinals.

The Nuggets would need all seven games to take care of the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference semifinals. We will get to that pivotal Game 7 in a bit, but we shouldn’t overlook the 35-point performance by David Thompson to force Game 6 in the Western Conference Finals versus the then-Seattle SuperSonics.

Despite being a No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, the SuperSonics were a feisty bunch. They handled the Los Angeles Lakers in their first-round series before dispatching the reigning NBA Champions in the No. 1-seeded Portland Trail Blazers in round two.

Seattle would go on to win the Western Conference in 1978 before falling to the then-Washington Bullets in the NBA Finals. The SuperSonics would proceed to flip the script in 1979 by topping Washington in a finals rematch.

But before any of that could even happen, Seattle had to get past a strong Nuggets team led by Thompson. For those who don’t remember Thompson, he was a high-flying, above-the-rim scoring dynamo out of North Carolina State. He inspired Michael Jordan so much that he introduced “His Airness” during his 2009 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

So let’s just say that Thompson was an elite scorer of his era, primarily playing for Denver in the mid-to-late 1970s. Denver won the series opener at home, but then proceeded to drop the next three games to the SuperSonics. Needing someone to step up in Game 5, Thompson most certainly delivered on May 14, 1978 at McNichols Sports Arena.

Thompson outpaced Seattle’s Gus Williams with a game-high 35 points. He amassed his game-best points on 16-of-27 shooting. He took almost twice as many shots as anybody else on Denver. Dan Issel and Bobby Jones each attempted 14 field goals in Denver’s 123-114 home victory to force Game 6 versus the SuperSonics.

The Nuggets would lose by 15 points in Seattle three days later to drop the series. However, Thompson certainly played well enough at times in the 1978 NBA Playoffs to have had Denver, at least temporarily, in the NBA Finals conversation.