For the first 24 minutes of Denver’s final preseason game, Nuggets fans were treated to a high-effort, high-scoring performance by their revamped bench. OKC spun out a championship starting five of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lou Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, and Chet Holmgren against Cam Johnson and four bench players for the Nuggets: Jonas Valančiūnas, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Peyton Watson. And until the final, soul-stealing shot of the game, it looked as if the outgunned second unit was going to stun the defending champs.

The game started fast with back-and-forth scoring. Five early points from Big Val kept the Nuggets in it followed by a Brown three, giving the good guys a 10-8 lead. After hitting a three, THJ took a charge on a gangly Chet drive, leading to a failed OKC challenge. A defensive 3 seconds free-throw make by Cam and another 3 by THJ gave the Nuggets a 17-16 lead with just over 3 minutes to go in the first. The teams traded turnovers and easy buckets, and the first ended with OKC clinging to a 22-21 lead.

The Nuggets set the tone to start the second, sprinting out to a 31-22 lead on scrappy defense, a Nnaji three, and a monster put-back dunk by Watson. After a Caruso three to stem the tide, another steal and sky-walking Watson dunk in transition led to an OKC timeout, which wasn’t enough to prevent a pull-up three from Watson, his 13th point, and a Nuggets’ 38-27 lead.

OKC whirled up their smothering defense, and after back-to-back SGA and Dort threes, they cut the lead to 46-40. Cam Johnson then found Strawther on a ridiculous feed from the lane followed by THJ draining his fourth three of the half, which extended the Nuggets lead back to double digits, 56-44. With the second quarter coming to a close, Johnson hit his first triple in five attempts to give the Nuggets an impressive 59-46 lead going into the half.

OKC started the second half with their starters on the bench, and the Nuggets second unit took advantage. Wallace and Johnson traded threes to get the score to 62-51. Cam then matched a JWill three with a beautiful drive and finger roll at the rim. After some disoriented offense and misses by both teams, Bruce swished a three from the elbow followed by a slicing layup to build the Nuggets’ lead back to 69-58. As both teams rotated in their final reserves, the offenses ground to a halt to close out the third quarter, which ended with successive bricks and a nine point Nuggets lead.

The Nuggets began the fourth looking to close out an easy final preseason win. A long Strawther three and Pickett pull-up to start the 4th created an 80-66 Nuggets lead and a quick OKC timeout. Strawther’s fourth three with 9 minutes left extended the lead to 86-69, all but silencing the Thunder.

A flurry of OKC threes, though, culminating in an inexcusable Hunter Tyson flagrant foul on a Carlson three attempt erased the Nuggets lead to six. Two more Dieng jumpshots tied the game at 85-85 with 3:30 left. After an ill-advised pass across the lane led to an easy layup for OKC with a minute and a half left, Holmes II swallowed up a rebound, leading to a Tamar Bates layup, reclaiming the Nuggets lead, 89-88.

The Thunder responded with a Malevy Leons three from the top of the key to regain a two-point lead. On the ensuing possession, Curtis Jones created his own floater in the lane, sinking the high-arching shot while getting fouled. The free throw rimmed out to Moses Brown, who back-ironed a bunny at the rim, giving the Thunder 12.8 seconds for the final shot.

And who else but Ousmane Dieng, the one-man comeback, to step through a desperation contest by Jones to bury a wild buzzer-beating three.

FINAL SCORE

Oklahoma City Thunder: 94

Denver Nuggets: 91

It’s hard to remember a more painful preseason loss, but the Nuggets head into the regular season with momentum. The bench found its flow against the best defense in a generation. Cam Johnson looked comfortable, confident, and capable of being a versatile replacement for MPJ. And the down-the-roster guys with something to prove like Pickett, Strawther, and Jones showed big-time playmaking ability alongside vets like THJ, Brown, and Jonas who look ready for meaningful minutes.

The regular season starts on October 24th against the Golden State Warriors.

GAME NOTES

  • Nuggets made 13 threes in the first half, led by Hardaway Jr. with 4
  • Peyton Watson led all Nuggets with 15 points and 6 boards
  • Only 3 Thunder players scored in double digits, SGA the only starter