Creating space off of a spin, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down the turnaround fadeaway jumper against Peyton Watson to hit the game-winner on the defending NBA champs.
The Oklahoma City Thunder escaped with a 118-117 win over the Denver Nuggets in a contest that saw OKC play from behind for most of the night.
“I think it’s good for our confidence,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said on the win. “I think it reinforces a lot of the things we’ve been working on.
“When you work at it and then those very things you’re working hard at are paying the dividends on the road venue like this against a team like Denver. I think it instills confidence in the things we’re doing.”
After an alley-oop dunk from Aaron Gordon gave the Nuggets an eight-point lead with 3:33 left, OKC went on a 9-2 run to turn it into a one-point deficit off its own alley-oop dunk from Chet Holmgren.
The final 90 seconds of the contest saw both teams exchange punches. Michael Porter Jr. hit on a jumper to give Denver a three-point lead. Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a pair of free throws on the next possession to cut it back down to one point.
With under a minute left, Jamal Murray scored on a contested stepback midrange jumper on a second-chance opportunity to give Denver a three-point lead.
OKC immediately called a timeout and answered back with a tough Jalen Williams finish surrounded by traffic to make it a 117-116 game with 37 seconds left.
Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic missed a 3-pointer on the next possession and Gilgeous-Alexander was off to the races to hit his second game-winner at Denver this calendar year. A stunned Nuggets couldn’t generate a shot attempt with 1.1 seconds and OKC exorcised its Denver demons with the late win.
On offense, the Thunder were running a machine as they shot 51% from the field and overcame a 7-of-21 (33.3%) night from 3. A 25-of-30 night from the free-throw line also helped out in a big way for OKC.
“We did a good job (on offense) tonight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Just trusting each other. Down the stretch, we were able to play in space because of it.”
Meanwhile, the Nuggets shot 45% from the field and went 12-of-32 (37.5%) from 3. Denver shot 21-of-24 from the free-throw line. They were outscored by OKC inside of the paint, 64-52.
After initially struggling, Gilgeous-Alexander turned it up in the second half on his way to 25 points and the game-winner. The MVP candidate added juice to his case with his big-time shot.
“I play a lot of one-on-one and I played a lot of one-on-one growing up,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on his game-winner. “I think that’s kinda where that feel comes from. At this point, it’s just instinctual. I don’t really work on it, it just happens.”
Holmgren also turned in one of the best performances of his season as he collected a near triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks. Williams contributed with 24 points and helped set Gilgeous-Alexander up for the game-winner by making it a one-point game off a tricky layup.
The Nuggets were led by Jokic with 24 points, 12 assists and six rebounds. Porter Jr. scored 20 points, went 4-of-8 from 3 and grabbed 11 rebounds. Gordon had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
This was a massive steal of a win for OKC. It felt like it got inside of a getaway car and escaped with a heist. For most of the night, the energy didn’t feel right for the Thunder as they didn’t bring their A-game.
As the Nuggets led for most of the night, it felt like a run was inevitable that would’ve put this game to bed. The Thunder looked lethargic all game long and couldn’t create any rhythm.
“We can compete with anybody,” Williams said on the win. “I think that kinda solidifies thoughts that we had. I don’t think we ever thought that way but it just gives us more and more confidence for the rest of the season.”
Instead, OKC kept it within striking distance all game — Denver’s largest lead was 11 points — and eventually closed it out in the final moments. The Thunder become just the second team to win at Denver this season.
With the win, the Thunder improved their record to 16-8 and retook possession of the second seed in the Western Conference standings.
“I thought we had great fortitude tonight,” Daigneault said. “We hung in there… I thought we made some massive wins tonight when the wind was in our face… It just shows mental toughness, competitiveness.”
Let’s look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Gilgeous-Alexander will be the talk of the town following his game-winner — and deservingly so.
OKC has struggled against Denver in recent memory — including a home-opening walloping earlier this season. It only makes sense as the Nuggets have been title contenders for several seasons now and the Thunder are in the infancy stages of a contending window.
So for OKC to go into one of the best homecourt advantages in the league and steal a win is the type of accomplishment that can be viewed as season-defining.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the charge in achieving that feat. In 37 minutes, he finished with 25 points on 9-of-20 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. He shot 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
After a seven-point first half, the All-NBA guard turned it around in the second half with 18 points.
Things looked eery in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets built a five-point lead with Gilgeous-Alexander resting until the 7:43 mark of the final frame. Once he checked back in though, it turned into the SGA show with 11 fourth-quarter points.
Gilgeous-Alexander did it on both ends as the league leader in steals added two more to his total. The second steal will be overshadowed by his game-winner, but it was arguably his second-biggest moment of the game as it led to the aforementioned Williams-to-Holmgren lob that cut the Nuggets’ lead to one point with 1:38 left.
Overall, it was a massive night for Gilgeous-Alexander. The 25-year-old added another signature moment to his MVP case.
“We got the stop, tried to secure the rebound and I looked at coach as soon as I caught the ball to see if he wanted to call a timeout,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on his game-winner. “He said, ‘Just play.'”
Quick transition buckets 🫡
📺 @BallySportsOK pic.twitter.com/6ElI8nLHW5
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
SGA with the go-ahead bucket 🥶 pic.twitter.com/tAadx319jQ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
Chet Holmgren: A-plus
Protecting the rim, Holmgren collected three blocks in a 19-second span in the third quarter. Anecdotally, this highlighted the type of monster night the seven-foot rookie enjoyed.
Holmgren had arguably his best performance yet, finishing a block shy of a rare point-rebound-block triple-double. In 32 minutes, he had 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 11 rebounds and nine blocks.
After being limited to five points in the first half, Holmgren scored 12 points in the second half to help lead OKC to the comeback win. His biggest bucket of the night was his only made shot in the final frame as an alley-oop dunk trimmed it to a one-point deficit with 1:38 left.
The Nuggets couldn’t get anything going inside of the paint as they shot just 50% in that area. Holmgren played a huge role in why that was the case.
“He’s the reason why we won the game honestly,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on Holmgren. “Those stops down the stretch — especially in the fourth quarter, they were huge… A couple of times we got beat and Chet was there to clean up for us.”
Defense sparks the offense 🔒 pic.twitter.com/WwujXp4QgC
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
SGA dime ➡️ Chet dunk 🔨 pic.twitter.com/xvHLglPFHn
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
🙅♂ pic.twitter.com/dE9YMqyUH9
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
Protecting the paint all game 💪 pic.twitter.com/mGMK4xvgSx
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
https://t.co/Bp3YEdLn87 pic.twitter.com/Q26pCmMnfO
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
Jalen Williams: A-plus
The Thunder saw a much more aggressive version of Williams following a 2-of-14 clunker in their loss to the Sacramento Kings.
In 33 minutes, Williams scored 24 points on 11-of-20 shooting and had three assists. OKC needed all three of its trio to step up and they each did in their own way.
The 22-year-old attacked downhill and finished through traffic in a variety of ways that included highlight dunks and layups. Williams continues to grow as a self-created scorer with seven of his baskets being unassisted.
He scored eight points in the fourth quarter and finessed his way toward a driving layup to make it a one-point game and set Gilgeous-Alexander for his eventual game-winner.
“We did a good job at managing the 2-for-1 as well,” Williams said on the final stretch. “… I just scored the layup, obviously we were able to get the stop and kinda manage the 2-for-1 that way. It was good clock recognition from him.”
JDub rack attack pic.twitter.com/q9bauIf8uG
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
JDub elevates 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zEbiDeru6w
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
SGA finds an open JDub for the jam 😤 pic.twitter.com/zZHNrB5c25
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
Closed it out on the defensive end 💪 pic.twitter.com/QmFCoRd2kI
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
Jaylin Williams: B-plus
An underrated hero in the Thunder’s win, Jaylin Williams provided OKC some valuable minutes off the bench.
OKC elected to match size with size as Williams matched up against Jokic on several possessions. Denver’s large frontcourt forced the Thunder to size up by giving the second-year forward extended time.
In 22 minutes off the bench, Williams had 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting — all four attempts were from outside. He also grabbed four rebounds. OKC elected to start Williams in the second half in place of Josh Giddey, who played a season-low 15 minutes.
“Tonight, he was massive for us,” Daigneault said on Williams. “We don’t win that game without him.”
Ball movement leads to a @Jay_MWilliams_ boom 💥 pic.twitter.com/eZPxcJ1sla
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 17, 2023
