The Denver Nuggets once again got an early tip on Sunday this week. This time it was with one less hour of sleep and against the top team in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dueled like the MVP candidates they are and it was a tight game for three and a half quarters but the Thunder used a strong fourth to put Denver away and get the victory. The two teams will play again tomorrow but the OKC wins the first leg 127-103.

The Thunder were sloppy to open the game and settled for jumpers which let Denver get the first ten points of the contest. Michael Porter Jr. had a huge block and the Nuggets defense was strong early on to maintain the double-digit lead. After an OKC timeout the Thunder refocused and Gilgeous-Alexander got going. The lead was quickly down to four and Michael Malone called timeout. SGA stayed hot but Jokic was aggressive on the other end so Denver maintained the small lead. Jokic took a hard fall around the two minute mark and came up holding his elbow and looking like he was in pain but he stayed in the game. Aaron Gordon however left the game with right calf tightness. Jaylin Williams hit a corner three right before the buzzer to trim the lead to one and after one the score was 29-28 Denver.

Porter gave Denver a little offense to start the second quarter but it wasn’t consistent enough and the Thunder took the lead. Jamal Murray picked up his game while both team’s played good defense and kept the game close. Jokic checked back in with Denver down three but the offense stalled out for a couple minutes before both teams just traded threes for five or six possessions. Oklahoma kept a lead around six through the meat of the quarter. Christian Braun gave Denver offense and sparked a run to take a one point lead but Shai responded with an and-1. At half time the score was 61-60.

Denver’s offense struggled to start the second half and their defense consisted mostly of fouling. They put OKC in the bonus before the nine minute mark while the Thunder’s lead got up to nine. The Nuggets defense tightened up but their offense was anemic and they couldn’t make any gains. Jokic hadn’t it a shot since he hurt his elbow. Jalen Pickett got a couple buckets and Jokic finally got a bucket to pull the Nuggets back within six points with three minutes to go. Both offenses went cold down the stretch of the quarter. Murray hit a three with thirty seconds to go to pull the Nuggets within three and that’s where it stood after three with the Thunder leading 86-83.

The fourth quarter started with an adjustment from Malone who kept Nikola on the floor. Even with Joker, Denver couldn’t get over the hump and take back the lead (they also got a tough whistle). OKC went on a run and the refs missed Chet Holmgren hitting Russell Westbrook in the face which kept Holmgren from fouling out (they did give Malone a technical foul though). The lead pushed back up to double digits. Jokic came back on the floor after a quick rest with the Nuggets in danger of letting the game get away. Denver went on a run to pull within seven and force a Thunder timeout after a Joker three. OKC responded to stop Denver’s run and kept the lead around ten. After the half way mark of the quarter SGA got hot again and started to put the game away. The Thunder got up by seventeen with three minutes to go and it looked over. They kept pouring it on, particularly Jalen Williams, right to the final buzzer and the game ended as a blowout. Nuggets lose 127-103.