Oklahoma City Thunder Vs Denver Nuggets Match Player Stats

This season’s first of four meetings between these teams was physical from start to finish in the Oklahoma City Thunder Vs Denver Nuggets Match Player Stats.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic each earned technical fouls early in the contest before an altercation ensued late in the third quarter when Thunder center Luol Deng collided with Nuggets forward Jamal Murray, who made history on Sunday by being named an All-Star selection.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a guard who currently plays for Oklahoma City Thunder in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Originally selected by Charlotte Hornets in the first round (11th pick overall) of 2018 NBA Draft.

Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder engaged in an intense and physical matchup from the very first quarter. Nikola Jokic and Lu Dort got into an altercation that resulted in offsetting technical fouls for Jokic and Jaylin Williams of Oklahoma City Thunder.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder back from an abdominal strain absence by scoring 36 points in their 127-121 overtime win against Denver Nuggets, including five rebounds and four assists during his return game.

Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets came within one rebound of recording his fourth consecutive triple-double and ninth overall this season. One of the league’s premier fantasy assets and likely No.1 pick in next year’s draft, Jokic has averaged 27.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 2.2 combined steals/blocks across 69 games this season; his averages exceed his career norms of 18.8 points/10 rebounds/10 assists/69 games played (in his career avg/1888/1873/103/105/54 respectively).

Jokic earned 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 14 assists to lead Denver over Oklahoma City Thunder 127-121 in overtime. This game was filled with physicality from its inception; multiple technical fouls were issued throughout.

A Flagrant 2 foul against Thunder forward Lu Dort in the fourth quarter led to a scrum near midcourt followed by technicals against Jokic and Oklahoma City center Jaylin Williams that led to offsetting technicals.

Jokic was initially asked by NBA officials to meet and was later cleared for playoff play; however, his actions led to further questioning by officials following Thursday’s loss to Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 6 due to knee pain; he later returned against Oklahoma City on Friday as well.

The Thunder have easily won both meetings between these teams this season, including their rematch after beating Denver in the Western Conference semifinals in May.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points while Cason Wallace posted his career-high 27 point total for Oklahoma City; both wins marked overtime victories on their part.

Cason Wallace

Thunder third-year guard Jahil Okafor had an outstanding performance, scoring 27 points and making seven 3-pointers – setting career-best marks in 3-point attempts! Okafor started in place of injured teammates Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (abdomen).

Wallace connected on his first three shots and added two more in the second quarter to help Oklahoma City open up a 62-55 halftime lead. Wallace hit another three in the third, expanding their advantage to 16 points.

Wallace missed two regular season games due to a toe injury, but is expected to return for the start of playoffs. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per 26.6 minutes across 77 appearances this year.

Oklahoma City center Enes Kanter (shoulder) and guard Jamal Murray (ankle) were ruled out for Denver’s game with Oklahoma City due to shoulder and ankle injuries respectively, respectively.

Denver will also be without guard Christian Braun (left ankle) and center Cameron Johnson (right knee). Denver hopes forward Aaron Gordon would return before the All-Star break but due to a right hamstring strain will miss at least four weeks from playing again.

Jamal Murray

The Denver Nuggets are facing an uphill task against Minnesota Timberwolves in the first-round matchup, but Jamal Murray’s return has given them hope. On a night where Nikola Jokic struggled offensively, Murray provided 24 points that helped Denver take a 3-2 series lead and his three 30-plus scoring performances this postseason helped make up ground. Murray made 10 out of 17 3-pointers during this performance.

Murray has averaged 28.9 points and 6.4 assists against the Thunder in his career, being an integral component of their first NBA championship run last year. As such, he makes for an ideal player to target both in daily fantasy and DFS formats as he regularly produces big scoring nights.

Murray got things going early with a fast-break layup just two minutes into the game and received loud applause when his name was announced in pregame introductions.

In addition, he hit two 3-pointers during the first quarter to reach 18 points before halftime; Denver extended their lead further in the third quarter when Murray made both three pointers and jumpers.

Murray’s performance in the second half allowed Denver to extend their lead by 16 points, but Oklahoma City responded with a 15-5 run to take back control and win by one. Jokic and Nuggets center Lu Dort got into an argument which resulted in Dort being ejected due to a flagrant 2 foul on Jokic.

The Thunder and Nuggets have met 207 times during the regular season, each team winning 110 contests. Both have met four times in playoff playoffs; with Denver taking three wins out of those four meetings. Now both will meet again for round two playoff playoff action; the winner of that series will advance to face Los Angeles Clippers for conference finals glory.