OKLAHOMA CITY — The road through the NBA’s Western Conference still appears to go through Oklahoma City.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points on Sunday as the Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 127-103 in a battle of two of the West’s top contenders. The Thunder turned a close game into a rout with a 41-20 surge in the final quarter.
Oklahoma City (53-11) has now won 16 of its last 18 games and stretched its current winning streak to seven games. The Nuggets (41-23), who entered Sunday’s game having won 13 of 16, saw their two-game mini-streak end.
The teams meet again Monday in OKC.
Thunder’s raucous fourth quarter
The Thunder led by just one point with less than 11 minutes to go. And yet, by the final buzzer, the end of their bench was on the court, running out the clock on what the score would implicate was a blowout.
Oklahoma City ended the victory on a 41-17 run. The trend has become its staple this season.
Sometimes, the Thunder meander against a lesser team. Other times, they stay competitive with a top-tier group, like the Nuggets, and they eventually spin their opponents dizzy over the final 12 minutes. They just did it against the Brooklyn Nets. The Boston Celtics played them close — until they didn’t. The New York Knicks played them close — until they didn’t. And now, Denver is part of the trend.
The Thunder have played only 56 minutes all season in clutch time, defined as when a game is within five points with five-or-fewer minutes to go, the lowest figure in the league. The only team near to them is the Washington Wizards, who sink so low only because they occupy the other end of the spectrum. — Fred Katz, NBA senior writer
The MVP update
Gilgeous-Alexander reigns supreme in the first leg of the MVP battle, but Jokić will receive another chance Monday.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the Thunder to the win, finished with 40 points, eight rebounds and five assists, his third consecutive game with at least 40 points. Just around the time when a team with a lead could be going through the motions, the Thunder’s superstar is doing anything but that.
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Meanwhile, Jokić closed the game with 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. Oklahoma City, with two big men to combat him, mostly used center Isaiah Hartenstein as his primary defender, throwing fellow 7-footer Chet Holmgren on a non-shooter, which allowed Holmgren to help in the lane on the three-time MVP. But Holmgren dealt with foul trouble all night, which meant adversity for OKC.
Sometimes, the man helping on Jokić was a small guard, like Alex Caruso. On other occasions, Hartenstein had to handle him by himself. — Katz
Thunder exploit Jokić on defense
I don’t think this has much of an impact on the MVP race because I think Gilgeous-Alexander is the clear leader here. These are two great players, maybe even once-in-a-lifetime type players. But if performance-plus-winning matters, SGA is the guy this season, because OKC has dominated the regular season.
What was noteworthy from Sunday afternoon was Gilgeous-Alexander being the best player on the floor, and his ability to exploit Jokić defensively in drop coverage. If Denver wants to take a bit of information home to study, it has to be figuring out a way to keep Jokić on the floor against the Thunder defensively, because on Sunday afternoon, the Thunder got anything they wanted. — Tony Jones, NBA staff writer
Required reading
(Photo: Joshua Gateley / Getty Images)
