Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 0.9 seconds left as the visiting Oklahoma Thunder edged the Denver Nuggets 118-117 on Saturday night.
Chet Holmgren had 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks, Jalen Williams scored 24 points, Luguentz Dort had 13, Isaiah Joe finished with 12 and Jaylin Williams had 11 for Oklahoma City.
Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 12 assists and Michael Porter Jr. finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Aaron Gordon scored 16 points, Jamal Murray had 15, Christian Braun scored 14 and Peyton Watson added 13 for Denver.
The Thunder trailed by eight late but rallied to steal a win. Gilgeous-Alexander converted a three-point play, Jalen Williams hit a jumper and a dunk and Holmgren dunked to cut the deficit to 113-112 with 1:38 left.
After Murray’s step-back jumper made it 117-114 with 44.2 seconds left, Jalen Williams had a layup and Gilgeous-Alexander drained the winner.
Denver led by two after three quarters and quickly increased it to start the final period. Braun had a layup and two free throws, Gordon made two free throws and Reggie Jackson hit a cutting layup to give the Nuggets a 95-87 lead.
Oklahoma City cut it to five with Jokic on the bench but Murray had a finger roll and Braun drained a 3-pointer to increase the lead to 102-94, and then went up by 10 on Jokic’s 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 6:10 left.
Denver led by four after the first quarter and built a 42-31 advantage on a putback by DeAndre Jordan with 7:40 left in the first half.
The Thunder went on an 8-0 run to get within three, fell behind by seven before closing the quarter with five straight points to trail just 56-54 at halftime.
Oklahoma City scored the first bucket of the second half to tie it, the Nuggets rallied to go ahead 80-72 but the Thunder went on a 10-2 run to tie it in the final minutes of the period. Jackson hit a 3-pointer to put Denver back in front, and it went into the fourth quarter with an 87-85 lead.
–Field Level Media
