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Thunder grab West second seed after holding off Jokic-less Nuggets

Published February 1, 2024, 11:50 AMNBA.com Philippines Staff
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 34 points, along with seven rebounds, and five assists.

The Oklahoma City Thunder snapped their two-game losing skid after taking down the defending champions Denver Nuggets, 105-100, at the Paycom Center on Thursday (PHL time).

Despite not having star Nikola Jokic due to a lower back ailment, the Nuggets started strong, building a nine-point lead to end the first quarter.

The Thunder, however, found their groove come the second quarter and continued to pounce the Jokic-less Nuggets.

In the fourth quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took control of the match, scoring 13 points for the Thunder to keep the pesky Nuggets at bay.

Chet Holmgren then delivered a huge three-pointer with just 22 seconds to go to give the Thunder a four-point lead, which sealed the victory.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 34 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, while Holmgren added 18 points and 13 rebounds in the win, which pushed OKC (33-15) as the second seed in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, Denver slides to fourth place with a record of 33-16.