It all started with Chet Holmgren, then Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took the Thunder momentum in stride behind the Oklahoma City Thunder’s masterclass defensive performance, defeating the Denver Nuggets 119-93.
Nikola Jokic’s remarks stating Holmgren “needs to get fatter” may have stuck with Holmgren as it was clear, early in the game, that Holmgren wanted to send a message to the Serbian superstar, scoring 10 points by the 9:30 mark of the first quarter.
Like any championship-caliber team would do, Denver answered, eventually taking the lead, 25-22 towards the end of the first quarter. But as OKC has done all season, they stayed consistent and ended the quarter on an 11-4, 8 of which came from SGA.
For the remainder of the game, OKC just made Denver look downright uncomfortable inside their own arena. Also notable, outside of Shai’s 40-point performance and Chet’s 24, no one for OKC stuck out offensively.
What did stick out was OKC holding the Nuggets to 10-of-37 (27%) shooting and 43.4% shooting from the field. Jokic, to his standards, had a below-average performance, scoring 19 points, pulling down 10 rebounds and 7 assists, and everyone else for Denver wasn’t much of a factor on the offensive end of the floor. Jamal Murray only scored 9 points on 4-of-15 shooting, and Denver’s second-leading scorer was their young, up-and-coming wing Peyton Watson who scored 14 points.
Before I finish boasting about what was one of OKC’s best wins of the season, I feel the need to speak on Jalen Williams and his game. Williams’ versatility was on display against Denver. Despite only scoring 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting, Williams tallied 9 assists, accounting for 22 points for his teammates to pair with his spectacular defense.
Oklahoma City is on a tear, winners of six of their last eight games, with two of those wins coming against Denver. They’ll return home on Sunday to play the Brooklyn Nets to close out 2023.
Great coverage of Thunder! Great story…loved your coverage!