NBA: Thunder end Nuggets’ streak with rare win in Denver
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives against Aaron Gordon #50 of the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter at Ball Arena on March 02, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points, Isaiah Roby had a career-high 26 points, and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 119-107 on Wednesday night.
Tre Mann scored 13 points and Darius Bazley added 12 for Oklahoma City, which got its first win in Denver since April 9, 2017.
Nikola Jokic had 22 points and 16 rebounds, Bones Hyland scored 19 and Bryn Forbes had 18 for the Nuggets, who had their six-game winning streak snapped. The starters finished 1-for-25 from behind the 3-point line.
The Thunder led by as many as seven in the first quarter but Denver’s reserves came through at the end of the first and into the second.
❝It took a team mentality.❞@NickAGallo 🎤 @roby_isaiah pic.twitter.com/1lb3ZH4FiR
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 3, 2022
Hyland scored eight straight points on a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws to help the Nuggets tie it going into the second.
Denver surged ahead by 11 but Oklahoma City went on a 14-2 run to go take a 44-43 lead. The Nuggets recovered and took a 57-55 lead into intermission.
The score was tied at 65 when the Thunder got hot. Roby and Bazley hit 3-pointers, Gilgeous-Alexander made a layup and Roby hit another one from deep during a 13-4 run that put Oklahoma City ahead 78-69 with 4:47 left in the third quarter.
Denver came alive after a timeout. Hyland hit two 3-pointers and Forbes was fouled on a 3-point make and hit the free throw to put the Nuggets back in front. The Thunder answered with an 8-0 run to close the third and lead 86-79.
The lead grew to 10 on a jumper but Forbes and Hyland hit 3-pointers to cut the deficit to four with 8:16 left. After an Oklahoma City bucket, JaMychal Green had a putback dunk and Forbes hit his fifth triple of the game to get within 99-98.
The Thunder scored the next seven points to lead 106-98 with five minutes remaining. The lead was nine when Aaron Gordon dunked to get withing seven, and the Nuggets had two chances to get closer but Oklahoma City held them off and closed it out.
