Denver Nuggets 84–96 Oklahoma City Thunder: match recap

Match recap

The Oklahoma City Thunder opened the season with a 96-84 win over the Denver Nuggets, using a stifling defensive effort that held Denver to 44.2% shooting and 26.7% from deep. Despite a significant rebounding disadvantage and a quiet night from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKL's balanced scoring and a decisive third-quarter surge proved the difference.

Denver jumped out early behind Aaron Gordon's 20 points and a strong rebounding effort (53-46 advantage), but the Thunder tightened the screws in the second half. Oklahoma City's switching defense collapsed passing lanes and forced the Nuggets into a 44.2 FG% night, while Jalen Williams (21 points on 5-9 FG) and Chet Holmgren (12 points, 17 rebounds) anchored the home side. Denver went cold from the field in the third quarter, scoring just 16 points as OKL built a lead they never relinquished. Bench contributions from Ajay Mitchell (12 points) and Alex Caruso (7 points, 5 assists) provided the necessary support against a Nuggets unit that got 13 from DeMar DeRozan but little else from Jamal Murray (6 points on 2-10 FG) and Nikola Jokic (13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, but 4-12 FG).

Key factors

• Denver's inability to convert from three (26.7 3P%) allowed OKL to pack the paint and limit Jokic's interior touches, despite the Nuggets owning the boards.
• OKL's third-quarter defense held Denver to 16 points, flipping a tight game into a double-digit lead that the Nuggets never seriously threatened.
• Jamal Murray's quiet night (6 points, 2-10 FG) left Denver without a reliable secondary creator, forcing Gordon and DeRozan into heavy isolation duty that yielded low-efficiency looks.

The Analyst's take

Denver's offense remains a work-in- progress, with too much reliance on Gordon and DeRozan when Jokic and Murray struggle from the field. Oklahoma City's defensive versatility — switching everything and protecting the paint — looks every bit the elite unit from last season. If Shai's jumper regresses toward his career mean, this Thunder team will be a handful even on nights when he's not dominant.