The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 96-84 in their home opener. What stood out in the victory?
Chet Holmgren continues to show his competitiveness.
Holmgren dominated the boards, grabbing 17 rebounds and adding four blocks. His defensive stops came at vital moments, leading to momentum shifts for the Thunder. Midway through the third quarter, he denied Christian Braun at the rim. Cason Wallace then found Jalen Williams for the alley-oop, forcing the Nuggets into a timeout. Holmgren also contributed offensively, finishing the night with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Jalen Williams is officially back.
Williams led the Thunder offense, finishing the night with 21 points. His aggressive approach on both ends of the court was evident throughout the game. His dynamic fast-break dunk sparked a 14-4 run to close out the third. It also gave the Thunder their first lead since the beginning of the game, showing how much of a difference a healthy Williams can make for OKC.
Defense is always in season.
After a slow first half, OKC came out of the break with a stronger defensive approach, suffocating Denver’s spacing and forcing turnovers. Just five minutes into the third quarter, Wallace had four deflections. He finished the game with four of the team’s 12 steals. Ajay Mitchell led OKC with five steals, adding to the defensive pressure. The Thunder forced 13 turnovers in the second half alone, scoring 19 of their 21 points off turnovers during that stretch.
It might be a new season, but this team still has the same defensive identity. The Thunder continue to show that their aggressiveness on both sides of the floor will make them a difficult team to beat.
