Oklahoma City Thunder vs Denver Nuggets

Yesterday's game between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder ended with the Thunder winning 127-103 at Paycom Center.

The Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points, Jalen Williams scored 26, and Chet Holmgren scored 14. Christian Braun scored 19 points, Nikola Jokic scored 24 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, and Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for the Nuggets.

In the last ten meetings between these two clubs, the Thunder have won six of them.

At 29.1, the Nuggets are tied with other teams for the most assists given up this season. Denver has been especially kind to opposition floor generals, but this is a good matchup for any position. The Nuggets have given up the fourth-most assists to point guards this season (9.7).

Even though SGA scores goals frequently, he is a talented playmaker who should have no trouble taking advantage of a favorable matchup. Against fellow MVP candidate Nikola Jokic, he will undoubtedly be motivated, and there will be plenty of chances to pile up points in what should be a high-scoring contest.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on a show yesterday, scoring 40 points in a dominant victory over the Denver Nuggets. While he’s earned recognition as an elite scorer this season, his playmaking abilities often fly under the radar. However, I’m here to give him his due credit as a facilitator, as he continues to shine in that aspect of his game.

For the second consecutive season, SGA is averaging 6.2 assists per game. He’s recorded 7 or more assists in 28 out of 62 games this year. While this milestone has been achieved in less than half of his total games, his recent performances have been particularly impressive. Over his last 10 games, he’s tallied 7+ assists seven times, including in six of the eight games since the All-Star break.

In the opening game of their back-to-back series, the Thunder defeated the Nuggets by a margin of 24 points. During the onslaught, MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 40 points.

The Thunder are on a seven-game winning run and have already defeated the Nuggets twice in three encounters. With 18 games remaining, their streak has guaranteed them a postseason berth.

This season, the Nuggets have had trouble playing the Thunder. Both of their losses were by a margin of at least 15 points, and their only win was by a margin of only two points.

Given that this may be a playoff encounter, Mike Malone's team will be eager to come. When the Nuggets arrived in Oklahoma City, they were on the second night of a back-to-back and had won two in a row.