In a battle of two teams atop the Western Conference standings, the Denver Nuggets captured a thrilling 121-112 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
With the win, Denver’s record now sits at 42-18, which is good for a four-game lead over Oklahoma City for second place in the Western Conference. The Nuggets are now just one game behind the Warriors for first place in the West as they have won 11 of their last 14 games overall. Denver has also now won nine-straight games at home as their record at the Pepsi Center now sits at 27-4, which is the best mark in the NBA.
The Nuggets came into Tuesday night having won their last four matchups against Oklahoma City, with two of those victories coming earlier this season. With a chance to take the season tiebreaker over the Thunder, Denver was looking to start quickly in a game that truly had a playoff type feel to it. The Nuggets did just that as they opened the game with a Malik Beasley three-pointer and followed it up the next possession with a Nikola Jokic layup.
Oklahoma City opened the game just as strong though as their two stars — Russell Westbrook and Paul George — were carrying them early on. Westbrook had five early points and George added a ferocious dunk as the Thunder held an early 13-7 lead with 7:54 left in the first quarter. Jokic answered with five quick points, which sparked a 9-0 run by the Nuggets to put them back in the lead by three points. The Thunder would end up regaining the lead as the quarter wore on, until an incredible three-pointer by Isaiah Thomas put Denver back in front.
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That three-pointer really sparked Denver’s end to the quarter as they held a 29-26 lead after 12 minutes of play. Through one quarter, Denver was led by Jokic offensively as he had seven points and five assists to go along with one block on the defensive end of the floor. Denver had eight different players that scored in the first quarter as Will Barton was the leading scorer after one period with eight points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field.
The Thunder reclaimed the momentum to open quarter number two though as they began the period on a 9-3 run to give themselves a three-point lead. That was with just over eight minutes remaining in the quarter as Denver subbed Jokic back in with the hopes of it helping them regain a rhythm offensively. Jokic did just that as he scored four points before another Thomas three-pointer finally got the Nuggets offense going again.
This was also the same point in the game where Jamal Murray started to heat up as he scored five-straight points for the Nuggets, which included a three-pointer and an incredibly off-balance fadeaway jumper.
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Denver held a 52-44 lead with 3:27 remaining in the half as the two teams were exchanging buckets at this point of the quarter. The Nuggets were having more success at doing so though as they only built on their lead to close the half, which gave them a 64-51 advantage through two quarters of play.
At the break, Denver was led offensively by Jokic, who had 19 points, seven assists, and three rebounds to go along with his three makes from distance. Murray also had a tremendous first half with 11 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Barton had a solid first two quarters as well scoring 14 points on an extremely efficient 7-of-11 shooting from the field.
The Nuggets came out of the halftime locker room looking to build on their double-digit lead, but not so fast said the Thunder. Westbrook and George hit back-to-back three-pointers to start the third quarter as the Nuggets lead was suddenly down to seven-points with 10:50 left in the period. Oklahoma City’s run reached 8-0 before a Beasley floater stopped the bleeding for Denver, but the Thunder still held all the momentum.
It would be a back and fourth next couple of minutes between the Nuggets and Thunder, until a Jokic lay in with 4:32 left in the quarter gave Denver an 11-point lead. Denver would bump that lead up to 14-points after another Murray three-pointer, but it was the play of Jokic that really allowed Denver to stay in command of the game. Through three quarters, Jokic was up to 27 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds as he was officially on triple-double watch going into the final quarter of play.
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Denver would end up taking a 91-78 lead into the final quarter play as the Nuggets were riding the momentum of their crowd to hopefully another Western Conference victory. Oklahoma City was not done battling though as they opened the fourth quarter on a 9-4 run to cut Denver’s lead to eight-points with 9:18 left in the game. That lead got all the way down to six-points before another quick spurt by Oklahoma City made it a 97-94 game with 7:17 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Thunder hit back-to-back threes just a few possessions later to regain a 100-97 lead with just under six minutes remaining. Denver’s once 18-point lead had suddenly evaporated as Oklahoma City was playing inspired basketball behind the play of Westbrook and George. Like they have done all season though, the Nuggets fought back with five-straight points to give themselves a two-point lead with 5:25 left in the game.
Denver and Oklahoma City continued to trade baskets until a Murray three-pointer with 2:10 left gave Denver a six-point lead along with all the momentum. The Nuggets held that same six-point lead for another minute as they were up 114-108 with 1:09 left in the game. Murray’s three would end up being the proverbial nail in the coffin for Oklahoma City’s comeback as the Nuggets were able to hang on too capture a 121-112 victory.
Stat leaders for the Nuggets were Jokic, who helped lead Denver to victory behind 36 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds finishing just shy of his 13th triple-double of the season. The Nuggets big man also finished with four makes from three-point range as he was the key player that helped lead Denver to victory. Murray also had a solid night for Denver finishing with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Barton also had a nice stat line with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, while Thomas (11) and Paul Millsap (12) also finished in double-figures for Denver.
Denver will have a day off tomorrow before they are back in action Thursday night for a home matchup against the Utah Jazz.