Player grades: Thunder blow 15-point lead to Nuggets in 131-126 OT loss
The Oklahoma City Thunder were on the verge of snapping their two-game losing streak. With a lead as large as 15 points, the Thunder needed to cruise their way in the final 12 minutes against a tired and injury-depleted Denver Nuggets squad.
Instead, the Nuggets were able to force overtime and eventually win 131-126. Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic carried the Nuggets to the win with 39 points on 11-of-15 shooting, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
With a Nuggets team only having 10 players available, several players stepped up big time.
Aaron Gordon also scored 30 points. Bruce Brown contributed with a triple-double of 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Vlatko Cancar scored 20 points.
In a game of runs and large leads, the Nuggets were able to outlast the Thunder in the end.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A
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Another game, another 30-point performance for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 31 points on 8-of-20 shooting. He did most of his damage from the charity stripe as he went a perfect 14-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Gilgeous-Alexander also finished with 11 assists and seven rebounds.
The biggest knock on Gilgeous-Alexander’s night is the fact he scored zero points and went 0-for-5 from the field in overtime. When the Thunder couldn’t stop the bleeding, it eventually snowballed to the Nuggets slowly taking momentum over and stealing a road win.
A couple of timely Gilgeous-Alexander in the fourth quarter could’ve changed that but it ultimately didn’t happen.
Isaiah Joe: A-plus
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When the Thunder needed a spark, Isaiah Joe provided it.
Despite receiving inconsistent minutes this season, Joe was able to give the Thunder much-needed points as he scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from three.
Joe was also a game-high plus-17 in his 21 minutes.
Aleksej Pokusevski: B
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After a one-game absence, Aleksej Pokusevski made his return after dealing with an ankle sprain and was penciled into the starting lineup.
Pokusevski finished with 13 points and three blocks in 29 minutes.
Jalen Williams: B
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Off the bench, Jalen Williams contributed with 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting and shot 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
Outside of Joe, Williams was the best player off the bench for the Thunder. Williams also was given the starting nod to start the second half.
In his first game without a mask, Williams played like one of the best players for the Thunder.
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