Thunder beat the Nuggets 96-84 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 15 after halftime
Gilgeous-Alexander had two points at the break and 10 in the fourth quarter. Denver turned it over 22 times, and Nikola Jokić made 5 of 19 shots in the Nuggets' opener.
By Dana WhitfieldDesk name · October 22, 2026 · 4 min read
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had two points at halftime. He finished with 17, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 96-84 on Thursday at Paycom Center.
It was the Thunder's home opener, in front of 18,203, and Denver's first game of the season. Oklahoma City is 2-0.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 in the fourth quarter. He hit a step-back, a 25-foot fadeaway three, an 11-foot fadeaway and a 27-foot three in a span of 5:06. The last one made it 93-76 with 1:44 left, Oklahoma City's biggest lead.
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 21 points. Chet Holmgren had 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.
Denver's half
The Nuggets went ahead 4-3 on a Jamal Murray layup at 9:55 of the first quarter and did not trail again until late in the third.
They led 27-24 after one quarter. An 8-0 run in the second, capped by two Trevon Brazile free throws, made it 37-28. That was Denver's biggest lead. Aaron Gordon hit a 26-foot three with 1:51 left in the half for a 48-40 lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander's first points came on two free throws 11 seconds later.
The 8-0 run
That started an 8-0 run across halftime. Gilgeous-Alexander set up an Isaiah Hartenstein dunk before the break. Denver led 48-44 at halftime.
On the first Denver trip of the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander blocked Murray's driving layup. He scored at the other end. Jalen Williams drove for a layup, and it was 48-48 at 11:08.
Gordon answers, then the turn
Gordon kept Denver in front. He hit two threes from Nikola Jokić passes, at 10:57 and 9:15, and scored again at 7:49. Denver led 58-52. Gordon scored 16 points in the second and third quarters, and finished with 20 on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Thunder caught up at 60-60 and 62-62. Ajay Mitchell gave them the lead for good with a running layup at 2:06. Alex Caruso hit a 26-foot three at 1:02. Gilgeous-Alexander hit from 25 feet with 1.7 seconds left in the quarter. Oklahoma City led 70-64 after three and won the quarter 26-16.
The fourth
Jalen Williams dunked twice on Caruso passes early in the fourth. Denver got within 72-66 at 10:05, the closest it came in the quarter.
DeMar DeRozan, who scored 13 off the bench, hit a 19-footer from Murray to make it 81-71 with 6:03 left. Gilgeous-Alexander answered with the fadeaway three. Denver did not get closer than 11 again.
The numbers
Denver turned the ball over 22 times, eight of them in the second quarter and eight in the fourth. Oklahoma City had 12 steals. Ajay Mitchell had five of them and scored 12 off the bench. Cason Wallace had four steals and made three threes.
Jokić scored 13 points with seven rebounds and five assists. He made 5 of 19 shots and 1 of 7 threes and was minus-20. Murray scored six on 2-of-11 shooting, with 10 rebounds and six turnovers.
Both teams shot 38 percent. Oklahoma City made 11 of 43 threes and 13 of 14 free throws. Denver made 8 of 30 threes and 14 of 22 free throws. The Nuggets outrebounded the Thunder 53-46 and had 19 offensive rebounds. Holmgren had nine offensive rebounds by himself.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 6 of 19 shots and 3 of 11 threes. He had no turnovers. Jalen Williams scored 10 of his 21 in the first quarter.
The rivalry
Last season Oklahoma City went 64-18 and Denver 54-28. The Thunder won three of the four meetings. In 2025, the teams played a seven-game Western Conference semifinal, and Oklahoma City won Game 7 125-93.
Scoring
Oklahoma City: Jalen Williams 21, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 17, Chet Holmgren 12, Ajay Mitchell 12, Cason Wallace 9, Alex Caruso 7, Isaiah Hartenstein 6, Jared McCain 4, Jaylin Williams 3, Kenrich Williams 3, Aday Mara 2, Brooks Barnhizer 0, Bennett Stirtz 0.
Denver: Aaron Gordon 20, Nikola Jokić 13, DeMar DeRozan 13, Christian Braun 7, Jamal Murray 6, Cameron Johnson 5, Ryan Nembhard 5, Alpha Diallo 4, Trevon Brazile 4, DaRon Holmes II 3, Marvin Bagley III 2, Tyus Jones 2, Bryce Hopkins 0.
By quarter: Oklahoma City 24, 20, 26, 26. Denver 27, 21, 16, 20.
What is next
The Thunder host the LA Clippers at Paycom Center on Sunday, October 25, at 7 p.m. ET. The Nuggets open at home against the New Orleans Pelicans at Ball Arena on Saturday, October 24, at 9 p.m. ET.
Oklahoma City opened the season by beating the Spurs 116-104 in San Antonio. Earlier on Thursday, the 76ers came back from 29 down to beat the Cavaliers.
Update: the Nuggets came back from 23 down to beat the Pelicans 141-135 in overtime.
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