The Denver Nuggets started strong with a 10-0 run to begin their clash against the Oklahoma City Thunder, only to get decimated in the fourth quarter as OKC rallied to finish the game with a bang – winning by 24 points to cap off a majestic finish in a thrilling afternoon at the Paycom Center behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 40-point game.

Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t start strong exactly, and shot horribly from three at 2-10, but he did pour in when it mattered most – going perfect in the fourth with nine points on 4/4 shooting. He created opportunities whenever he drove to the basket, and found the open man at the right time. As the dust settled, SGA finished with 40 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and three blocks – stuffing the stat sheet to take the win in the first leg of their back-to-back clashes in Oklahoma City.

Nikola Jokic finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists – flirting close to a triple-double but was not efficient from the field as he was well-defended by OKC’s twin towers of 7-foot centers in Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. It was a tight clash and many thought it would be neck-and-neck all the way to the final buzzer – until the Thunder pulled away when it mattered most.

A Dominant Fourth for OKC

After a slow start, OKC came to life and trailed 29-28 in by the end of the first quarter, then a 61-60 lead at halftime before taking an 86-80 lead heading into the fourth. However, OKC would go on to blitz the rest of the fourth, outsourcing the 2023 champions 41-23, which was capped off by a flurry of threes from Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort, who missed a dunk on a fast break before finally drilling a corner three with just four minutes left to play and extending a 112-99 lead.

Jalen Williams was all over the court with 26 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, while also making his presence felt on the defensive end with two steals and a block. He scored 13 points in the fourth quarter alone including back-to-back threes, with the first one being a step back coming off a swing play by OKC. Another was an extra pass from Lu Dort, as he calmly drilled a three on the corner to make it a 125-103 lead for OKC with a minute left to play, which served as the dagger.

Joker Struggling

Despite finishing with another near-triple-double, Nikola Jokic didn’t really look like the same historic player who finished with the first 30-20-20 game in the NBA. In an MVP duel with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic failed to come up with his best shooting night, shooting 10-23 from the field and even shooting 2-6 from the line, which was fairly disappointing, 2-10 from three.

Some blame the elbow that hit the floor hard in the first quarter, but then he played 41 minutes, which meant that it didn’t really bother him in a major way. What bothered the three-time MVP though was the presence of Holmgren and Hartenstein. Chet finished with +32 in the game and had 14 points on 6/10 shooting, eight rebounds and whopping four blocks despite being in foul trouble.

Hartenstein was more of the body who took the fight to Jokic, finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 5/6 from the field.

OKC’s bench outscored its Denver counterpart, 31-14, and capitalized on points off turnovers with 15. The Thunder also surprisingly dominated the paint – 54-46 while leading by as many as 24 points. This was a defensive statement for OKC, who also comes off with its season-high 14 blocks.