The Denver Nuggets play host to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs at Pepsi Center on Saturday.

The Spurs (3-3) finished the regular season with a 16-23 road record but they can make amends of that terrible road record with a victory here. The good news is that San Antonio already won one game in Denver earlier in this series, so it's not like it's impossible. The 17-point blowout in Game 6 is something the Spurs need to build off of and Greg Popovich believes he found something that can lead to success in Game 7. The bench production was a huge part of that victory, with Rudy Gay carrying the load. Riding veterans like Gay, DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge will be critical in this do-or-die Game 7 and it's easily the biggest game of the season so far.

The Nuggets (3-3) did everything possible to land the top seed in the Western Conference and it's easy to see why after this grinder of a series. Facing San Antonio in the playoffs is always a tough task and it's led the Nuggets up to this point. The play of Nikola Jokic has just been ridiculous in this series, with the big man averaging 23.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game. He's simply becoming one of the most dominant forces in the league and his 43 points in Game 6 shows just how much he wants to advance. The fact that he scored 43 and the Nuggets got blown out is discouraging though because it seems as though they could get knocked out of Jokic has a down game. They simply need more from guys like Will Barton and Gary Harris, as these wings will likely decide whether Denver advances or gets knocked out.

The winner of this game will face the Portland Trail Blazers in the second-round.