Aaron Gordon #50 of the Denver Nuggets reacts to a play against the Los Angeles Lakers at Ball Arena on October 26, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images/AFP
Aaron Gordon scored a season-high 27 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 122-110 win over the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
Nikola Jokic had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists for his 79th career triple-double, breaking a tie with Wilt Chamberlain for sixth-most in NBA history.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Thunder.
Denver shot 58.1 percent from behind the 3-point line (18 of 31), its best shooting percentage from beyond the arc since January 2021.
The Nuggets led by as many as 19 points but Oklahoma City stormed back in the third, taking its first lead with less than two minutes to play in the frame.
The Thunder did it by pounding the ball inside, scoring 24 of 38 third-quarter points in the paint, and turning the pressure up defensively. Oklahoma City scored 11 points off Denver’s nine turnovers in the quarter.
Oklahoma City outscored the Nuggets 72-46 in the paint for the game.
Aaron Gordon shot 76.9% from the field while leading the @nuggets in scoring with 27 PTS! #MileHighBasketball@Double0AG: 27 PTS (10-13 FGM), 5 REB pic.twitter.com/KX808bOGQh
— NBA (@NBA) November 4, 2022
But Jamal Murray helped the Nuggets stay in the game, scoring Denver’s first nine points of the fourth before the rest of the offense came alive.
The Nuggets reeled off a 16-4 run over four minutes in the middle of the fourth to take control, including three straight baskets assisted by Bruce Brown.
Murray scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Jokic had just two points on two shots in the first half, but he helped the Nuggets control the game early offensively with eight assists before the break.
Gordon scored 23 points before the break, going 8 of 10 from the field.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 37 points on 13-of-17 shooting. Gilgeous-Alexander was perfect on 11 free-throw chances and is 51 of 52 this season.
Luguentz Dort added 19 points and Josh Giddey 16 for Oklahoma City.
The Nuggets jumped all over the Thunder from the start, scoring the first 13 points and leading 21-4 five minutes into the game.
Oklahoma City started just 2 for 10 from the field before settling down. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 of the Thunder’s 29 first-quarter points.