NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets

· National Basketball Association
Final
102 - 87

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Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren lead Thunder to 102-87 win over Nuggets in season opener

Holmgren rocks the rim with thunderous jam

Holmgren proved to be a handful on both ends of the floor. He tied a career high with 14 rebounds, and had five assists and blocked four shots. Reserve Aaron Wiggins added 15 points.

It was an important divisional game right out of the gate. The Thunder and Nuggets both finished 57-25 last season, with the Thunder earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference by virtue of a tiebreaker.

Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for Denver.

Jokic's point guard partner, Jamal Murray, had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Christian Braun added 16 points. while Aaron Gordon, fresh off signing a new contract extension, added 12 points. Denver was 7 of 39 on 3-pointers.

Takeaways Thunder: Holmgren can run the floor with authority. In the third quarter, he blocked a shot by Jokic, ran the down the court, took a pass and and threw down a powerful dunk.

Nuggets: The Thunder's bench outscored the Nuggets' reserves 25-16. New addition Russell Westbrook had six points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Key moment Before the game, Denver players and coaches paid tribute to the Dikembe Mutombo by wearing T-shirts emblazoned with an image of the big man’s iconic finger wag. In the first quarter, the team showed a video tribute celebrating Mutombo’s big accomplishments on and off the court. Then, fans stood and applauded for 55 seconds — his number. Mutombo died last month of brain cancer. He was 58.

Key stat At an average of 24 years, 148 days, the Thunder opened the regular season with the youngest roster in the league.

Up next The Thunder are at Chicago on Saturday night, while the Nuggets host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

Regular Season Series

OKC leads series 1-0

Matchup Prediction

Nuggets: 58.3%
Thunder: 41.7%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 102 - 87
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 102 - 87
4th 6.0 Ousmane Dieng defensive rebound 102 - 87
4th 9.0 Jalen Pickett misses 25-foot three point jumper 102 - 87
4th 18.2 Trey Alexander defensive rebound 102 - 87

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/okc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originOKC https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/den.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDEN
43-101 FG 35-98
42.6 Field Goal % 35.7
8-36 3PT 7-38
22.2 Three Point % 18.4
8-12 FT 10-14
66.7 Free Throw % 71.4
49 Rebounds 57
13 Offensive Rebounds 17
36 Defensive Rebounds 40
23 Assists 29
9 Steals 11
13 Blocks 7
12 Turnovers 15
0 Team Turnovers 1
12 Total Turnovers 16
0 Technical Fouls 1
0 Total Technical Fouls 1
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
12 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 11
19 Fast Break Points 12
62 Points in Paint 52
15 Fouls 12
20 Largest Lead 9

Game Information

Ball Arena

Location: Denver, CO
Attendance: 19,786 · Capacity:

2024-25 Northwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Oklahoma City 3 0 1.000 - W3
Minnesota 2 1 .667 1 W2
Denver 1 2 .333 2 W1
Portland 1 3 .250 2.5 L1
Utah 0 3 .000 3 L3
Full Standings

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