OKC falters in the fourth quarter and drops the first game of the season to Denver

Until the end of the third quarter, it looked like the OKC Thunder were over and forgotten about their eighth game against the Denver Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. had several ideas for the Nuggets. An impressive comeback led by Denver’s stars contributed to the 124-122 win, snapping OKC’s consecutive winning streak. With six minutes left in the third quarter, OKC led 84-73. Center Chet Holmgren and star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had OKC cooking at all levels and while the lead was surmountable, they looked comfortable.

That sense of comfort didn’t last long as the duo of Jokic and Porter led a comeback to scare OKC. Porter did a great job getting to the free throw line in this stretch and Jokic did what he does best: get his buckets into the paint. Combine that with OKC’s dry run and by the end of the quarter the two teams were tied at 95.

Once again, the first half was completely under the Thunder’s control. Jalen Williams posted 15 to lead the way and Holmgren was right behind. OKC shot just well enough to hold an average lead, but clicked on the defensive side of the ball as usual.

Surprisingly, the Nuggets’ veteran guard Russell Westbrook ended up putting in a huge performance. He finished with 29 points, six rebounds and six assists for by far his best game of the early season. Without his performance, Denver would certainly have been out of the game. His acrobatic finishes and 75% three-point night were key factors in his standout play.

By the start of the fourth quarter, it was clear that the game would be on the line and Denver would test the composure of this young team to maintain the winning streak. Westbrook scored the first three points of the final period with an and-one layup, followed by a triple from Porter and two more from Westbrook. These weren’t continuous runs, with Gilgeous-Alexander getting to the rim and sophomore guard Cason Wallace doing the same shortly after.

The two teams bounced back and forth, with Denver taking a seven-point lead with 3:24 remaining. Peyton Watson gave Denver this lead, and its undefeated streak seemed to be in the greatest jeopardy it had seen yet. Denver stayed comfortably in front thanks to relentless defensive pressure.

With 1:44 to go and trailing by six, Gilgeous-Alexander dribbled the ball off his foot and committed a foul on the defensive court. Watson made another layup to extend the lead to eight, but Williams responded with a step back midrange and a transition three. From that moment on, the pressure was on OKC to come to a standstill. On a scramble play with the shot clock winding down and less than 30 total seconds remaining, Jokic was fouled, giving the Nuggets the ball, but only one-on-two. A quick layup from Gilgeous-Alexander made the game much more interesting.

After missing a pair of free throws, Watson would be called for the final defensive possession of the game for the Nuggets, up by two. Gilgeous-Alexander charged onto the court, drove to the basket and was denied by Watson to seal the game for the Nuggets.

OKC fell to 7-1 on the season with its first loss and was led by Williams with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, posting a near triple-double. Despite missing the final bucket, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points and six assists for the Thunder.

The next game for OKC takes place at 7:00 PM CT on Friday, November 8 against the Houston Rockets.

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