Oklahoma City walked out of its second game with a 2-0 record, a 12-point win over Denver and another early statement against a Western Conference heavyweight. The unusual part was that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did it without reaching 20 points.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 against the Nuggets, ending his NBA-record run of 141 straight games with at least 20. The streak had stretched from Nov. 1, 2024, when he scored 30 in Portland in Oklahoma City’s fifth game of that season, through MVP awards, a Finals MVP and the franchise’s first title.
He had already passed Wilt Chamberlain’s previous mark during the run, but this one was never going to be rescued by force. Gilgeous-Alexander went scoreless from the field in the first half and had only two points on 2-for-7 shooting, his lowest-scoring opening half since his 2019 rookie season in Oklahoma City.
Mark Daigneault sent him back in with the Thunder comfortably ahead and a little less than seven minutes remaining, with Gilgeous-Alexander sitting on seven points. Denver’s Christian Braun stayed attached to him, while Oklahoma City looked for ways to get him the ball. Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down a 25-footer with 1:43 left to move to 17, but checked out shortly afterward rather than turn the closing minutes into a chase for the record.
Daigneault said Gilgeous-Alexander requested the final substitution himself, calling it one of the clearest examples of the guard’s competitive class. Gilgeous-Alexander’s view was simple: the game should be handled with respect.
Thunder size sets the tone again
The bigger result was the way Oklahoma City handled another elite frontcourt player. After limiting San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama to 1-for-13 shooting in the opener, the Thunder held Nikola Jokić to 5-for-19. Across the first two nights, Wembanyama and Jokić combined to shoot 6-for-32 against an Oklahoma City defense built to keep changing bodies and looks.
Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein and Aday Mara gave the Thunder three seven-foot options, mixing length, mobility and strength. Daigneault also used Jaylin Williams and Alex Caruso in shorter stretches on Jokić, refusing to give Denver a single defensive matchup for long. Nuggets coach David Adelman noted that having multiple big men opens defensive possibilities most teams do not possess.
The opening schedule has offered a sharp early measuring stick. Oklahoma City has beaten Wembanyama’s Spurs and Jokić’s Nuggets with room to spare, despite Jalen Williams still working his way back after an injury-heavy 2025-26 season and despite the offseason departure of three important rotation pieces in trades.
Denver remains a familiar benchmark for this group. The Nuggets were champions in 2023 while the Thunder were still building, and Oklahoma City has since gone 3-1 against them following that title season. The Thunder’s Game 7 win over Denver in the 2025 Western Conference semifinals became a major step on the road to their championship.
Daigneault said Denver’s standard helped Oklahoma City develop during its rebuild, because beating the Nuggets required precision at both ends. He described the rivalry as one built on respect and repeated high-level competition.
For Denver, the concern was the lack of secondary offense when its stars could not crack Oklahoma City’s defense. Jokić and Jamal Murray combined to shoot 7-for-30, and while the Nuggets’ bench held a 33-31 scoring edge, Aaron Gordon was the only regular contributor consistently able to create enough pressure.
The Nuggets added DeMar DeRozan, but their new mix still needs time to settle. Braun and Cam Johnson, both coming off difficult 2025-26 campaigns, totaled 12 points against the Thunder. Adelman said Denver has many new faces and will need time to establish its identity, but the next step is clear: Jokić, Murray and Gordon need more help on nights when the defense turns the paint into traffic.
