Thunder lose to Nuggets in first test of the season

DEN 124 OKC 122

Oklahoma City (7-1) finally lost, failing to survive their first close game of the season in Denver (6-4). The game quite felt familiar midway through the third quarter, when OKC went up 78-62 thanks to a Chet Holmgren dunk. Holmgren (15 & 10 on a very ugly 5-14 shooting) and the Thunder weren't firing on all cylinders, but they were playing defense and getting enough from their stars (28 for SGA, 29/10/9 for JDub) to stay comfortably ahead.

But Nikola Jokic was getting familiar, too. He continued to dissect and bully the Thunder (23 pts, 20 rbs, 16 ast, 4 stocks) as the game progressed and his teammates warmed up from three, as Denver raced all the way back to a 95-95 tie heading into the final frame. Russell Westbrook (29/6/6 on 10-15 shooting) showed some vintage burst and touch, and the Nuggets' home spark carried them to the lead and eventual victory. OKC made it interesting late before Peyton Watson even-stevened his own clutch impact: Watson missed two free throws to give Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a shot to redeem his 8 turnovers with a buzzer-beater, a shot which Watson promptly blocked.

The Thunder return home for another test against Houston on Friday.