Thunder beat the Nuggets 96-84 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 20-point streak ends

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 96-84 on Thursday night in their home opener at Paycom Center. Jalen Williams led OKC with 21 points, and Chet Holmgren had 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks. The Thunder are 2-0. Denver, playing its first game of the season, is 0-1.

The night's bigger number belonged to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The two-time reigning MVP scored 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting, the first time he finished a regular-season game under 20 since Oct. 30, 2024. That ends his NBA-record streak at 141 games, per ESPN.

How it went

Gilgeous-Alexander missed all seven of his shots in the first half, and Denver led by as many as nine. Two free throws were his only points before the break, and the Nuggets went in up 48-44. ESPN said it was only the fourth time in 450 games with the Thunder that he went a full half without a field goal.

He scored the first basket of the third quarter to make it 48-46. Ajay Mitchell's layup put OKC ahead 64-62, its first lead since 3-0, and 3-pointers from Alex Caruso and Gilgeous-Alexander pushed it to 70-64 after three. Oklahoma City won the fourth 26-20.

Gilgeous-Alexander's 3 with 1:44 left made it 93-76 and gave him 17. At the next timeout he asked coach Mark Daigneault to take him out, and he did not return. "I was going to go out there, and then I saw that [the Nuggets] had subbed, so I thought we should sub, too," he told reporters, per ESPN. "You always treat the game with respect."

The numbers

Both teams shot 38% from the field. The difference was the ball: Denver turned it over 22 times, and OKC scored 21 points off those turnovers. Mitchell had 12 points and a career-high five steals, according to the NBA. Cason Wallace added nine points and four steals, and Caruso had seven points and five assists off the bench.

Aaron Gordon led Denver with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Nikola Jokic scored 13 on 5-of-19 with seven rebounds and five assists. DeMar DeRozan had 13 in his Nuggets debut. Jamal Murray went 2 for 11 for six points, with 10 rebounds and six turnovers. Denver made 8 of 30 from 3, and OKC made 11 of 43.

What's next: Denver hosts New Orleans on Saturday night, and Oklahoma City hosts the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.