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OKLAHOMA CITY — Punching the ball out of Tim Hardaway Jr.'s hands, Isaiah Joe started the game-sealing transition sequence. He ended it, too. After securing the steal, he zipped toward the left corner spot. Chet Holmgren found his open teammate. He swished the outside jumper to slam the door of this thriller.
The Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Denver Nuggets in their latest heavyweight fight with a 127-121 overtime win. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's return was put on the back burner for this back-and-forth affair that featured several characters.
To start things off, let's set the scene — the Thunder looked out of synch from the jump. Driving headfirst at Christian Braun, Gilgeous-Alexander scored his first points in three weeks. Alas, the rest of OKC couldn't help out as it regressed.
Some early feistiness highlighted a slow start for the reigning NBA champions as Nikola Jokic antagonized every other OKC player. The Thunder were in a 33-19 deficit after the first quarter. About as bad as things could get.
Eventually, the Thunder figured out who they were. They had a 20-7 run in the second frame to make this a game once again. Gilgeous-Alexander led the way as he made up for lost time with sudden scoring dominance. They had 31 points in the second quarter and entered halftime in a manageable 59-50 deficit to the Nuggets.
After the break, it was more of the same. Jamal Murray finally got hot — not just his temperature, either, as he battled an illness. The NBA All-Star player started to bury jumpers from deep. That helped the Nuggets keep their distance on the scoreboard.
Anytime the Thunder would cut their deficit to a couple of possessions, the Nuggets immediately aired their balloon with timely buckets. Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points through three quarters, but was still behind on the scoreboard. OKC had 27 points in the third frame. It exited in an 83-77 hole.
While playing without Gilgeous-Alexander has been nightmare-fueled stuff for the Thunder over the years, it's a boogeyman they've slayed in the last three weeks. The opening moments of the fourth quarter proved that. Joe stole Denver's inbound attempt. He then found Jared McCain for the outside jumper. Swish.
Just like that, the OKC crowd was back in it. Similar to what happened last playoffs, Lu Dort graduated from a forgettable background character to front and center — for better or worse. First, the better. He sank a pull-up outside jumper before a patented mid-range jumper rattled in to give OKC its first lead in forever.
The Thunder opened the final frame with an 11-2 run. Finally, they broke through on the scoreboard. The Nuggets needed to call a couple of quick timeouts to slow down their momentum. Afterward, hot heads finally boiled over.
Tripping Jokic on an inbounds play, Dort enraged the three-time MVP winner. The dam finally broke. Tension has built up all night. We were seeing stoppages and reviews every other possession that had this NBA game rival the length of an NFL one.
Jokic and Dort caused the biggest scuffle. Both teams circled each other. Jaylin Williams was caught in Jokic's fiery anger. Eventually, both sides went to their bench. The referees ejected Dort with a flagrant foul two. Jokic and Williams were hit with double technical fouls. That was that.
From there, the Thunder and Nuggets exchanged blows. The heavyweight matchup lived up to its billing and then some. Alex Caruso made back-to-back 3-pointers to swing a 107-105 lead over to OKC's side with just 83 seconds to go. Gilgeous-Alexander tried to go with the dagger elbow jumper but missed.
That allowed Jokic to tie things up at 107 points apiece with 38 seconds left. Gilgeous-Alexander had another chance to hit the dagger. Nope. Braun nastily blocked his 3-pointer attempt. Thankfully, Cameron Johnson returned the favor when he missed the potential game-winner on the other end.
Tied at 107 points, we went into overtime. The Thunder scored 30 points in the fourth quarter to make that possible. In a move that shocked everybody — including their own teammates — OKC was without Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Hartenstein for the five-minute period.
Cosplaying Dr. Strange, the Thunder laid out what would happen if this game went into overtime for Gilgeous-Alexander — he wasn't going to play. No matter what. Being out three weeks meant the reigning MVP needs a ramp-up period. Same for Hartenstein with his soleus strain injury management.
Welp. Guess we'll see how the Thunder handle that impromptu situation. Gilgeous-Alexander's teammates kinda had the rug pulled underneath their feet with his sudden absence, but can't think too much on that with a chance to get a huge win.
The two Thunder role players who've stepped up in Gilgeous-Alexander's absence calmed everybody down. Cason Wallace ran the floor before he jumped up to get a transition dunk. He then found Joe for a corner 3-pointer. They had a 112-107 lead with a little over two minutes left in overtime.
Caruso joined in on the fun when he stole the ball from Hardaway Jr. and navigated his way through Denver's defense to get a layup. The Thunder had a 116-111 lead with a little over one minute to go. Joe buried another 3-pointer to put this one mostly away at 119-112 with 58 seconds left.
Aside from some Murray wizardry that saw him bury three 3-pointers in 22 seconds, the Thunder completely dominated the overtime period. They scored 20 points in five minutes without Gilgeous-Alexander. Against Jokic and the Nuggets, too. What a win — a stressful one, but those are always the best.
The Thunder shot 47% from the field and went 12-of-35 (34.3%) from 3. They shot 23-of-27 on free throws. They had 29 assists on 46 baskets. Six Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with 36 points and nine assists. Holmgren had a monstrous 15-point and 21-rebound double-double. Wallace had 10 points and four rebounds. McCain scored 14 points. Caruso and Williams each had 12 points.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets shot 42% from the field and went 18-of-48 (37.5%) from 3. They shot 17-of-22 on free throws. They had 27 assists on 43 baskets. Four Nuggets players scored double-digit points.
Jokic was limited to 23 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists. Murray had a sizzling 39 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Braun had 23 points and eight rebounds. Hardaway Jr. scored 16 points.
Sometimes, the Thunder win and nothing really happens. Other times, everything happens. Counts this toward the latter group. What a rock fight between the Thunder and Nuggets — the two teams folks have penciled all season as the top title contenders. Even with notable absences, Gilgeous-Alexander's and Jokic's participation ensured a banger. And boy, did they and their teammates deliver.
The Thunder outlasted the Nuggets in this TV drama. You saw everything in this one — from basketball to non-basketball things. Gilgeous-Alexander made his long-anticipated return. Jokic leaned into the OKC villain role. Highlight plays stuffed throughout this game. Both teams were chippy from the start. An incredible win for the Thunder as they remain atop the West standings for now.
Let's look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A
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In a pregame routine that's grown mundane over the years, Gilgeous-Alexander received some extra pop in his starting lineup introduction, ala prime Stone Cold Steve Austin. It was the OKC crowd's chance to show the reigning MVP how stoked they were to see him back after a rare three-week absence.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 36 points on 12-of-29 shooting, nine assists and three rebounds. He shot 0-of-3 from 3 and went 12-of-13 on free throws. He also had two steals and two blocks.
Bullying his way past Braun, Gilgeous-Alexander quickly got to the cup for the driving layup. He tried his best to make up for lost time. The 27-year-old had a throwback performance by relentlessly attacking the paint. There's a reason why he's led the league in drives for the last handful of seasons.
Trying to knock off any rust, that was the most surefire way to get on the scoreboard. Gilgeous-Alexander made it look too easy as he toyed with a Jokic-led interior defense. He sliced through it like it was paper-thin. He had quite the hot start with 18 points in the first half. It was the type of special one-on-one basketball you only see a handful of players conduct every night.
Gilgeous-Alexander continued his dominance with 14 points in the third quarter. He guaranteed that the Thunder would stay within striking distance of the fourth quarter. He had no problem with hunting his shot. And even though his jumper wasn't there, he found other ways to get on the scoreboard.
One of those was the free-throw attempts. Gilgeous-Alexander crossed double-digit pretty easily. The Nuggets' bottom-10 defense came back to eventually bite them in this one. The reigning MVP has made it a go-to move over the years to barrel at the rim and draw fouls. Denver has yet to fix that glitch over the years despite several jabs at it.
In a close game, the Thunder usually rely on Gilgeous-Alexander to close things out. That's how things have been for years. They tried to lean into that. He had a quiet fourth quarter as a couple of chances to either hit daggers or even the game-winner failed to materialize.
And then Gilgeous-Alexander begrudgingly stayed on the bench in overtime. Nobody besides a couple of people knew about the contingency plan. They hoped it wouldn't surface to the public. But the basketball gods had other plans. As badly as he wanted to be out there, he understood it wasn't worth the risk. Learning to play without him, OKC found a formula to dominate those final five minutes.
Even if it was capped at 34 minutes, awesome to see Gilgeous-Alexander back. You never take what he does for granted, but it's always special to see the NBA's best scorer go to work. The Thunder are a title contender solely because of him. Not to discredit the rest of the roster, but their ambitions start and stop with his availability.
Chet Holmgren: A-plus
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Grabbing Braun's failed jam attempt, Holmgren's final rebound sealed the final result. The Thunder were about to add to their seven-point lead with 28 seconds to go in overtime. The Nuggets were forced to play the foul game the rest of the way to no avail.
Holmgren finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, 21 rebounds and three assists. He shot 1-of-2 from 3 and went 4-of-6 on free throws. He also had three blocks.
Talk about dominating an NBA game — in the most Holmgren way possible, too. The seven-footer won't earn himself any flashy highlights, but his ability to finish plays, play elite defense and destroy the boards is why he's always an advanced analytics darling.
Holmgren scored 10 of his points in the second half. With Gilgeous-Alexander back, he was able to enjoy the one-of-one gravity he creates. Hanging around the paint resulted in easy buckets. In overtime, the NBA All-Star showed his clutch gene by knocking down some important free throws to keep Denver away on the scoreboard.
We all know what Holmgren does as a defender. The Nuggets only show a meh 52% inside of the paint. They put up points on the scoreboard, sure, but it mostly resulted from hot jump-shooting. The 23-year-old completely scared off several Denver players from driving into the paint. Jokic had another inefficient outing against OKC's defense. That's been a theme over the years.
Now, let's talk about rebounding. Because, damn. Holmgren stepped up there. That's been one of his biggest criticisms over the years. How can you be seven-feet but be such a poor rebounder? To his credit, he's turned that narrative around in recent weeks — albeit quietly. But 20-plus boards pop out on a box score to anybody who follows a lick of basketball.
Just an awesome showing by Holmgren in an area of basketball that rarely gets the love other parts do, like scoring and playmaking. The 23-year-old helped the Thunder get this signature win by playing his brand of basketball. It takes a required taste to appreciate his nuanced ways of impacting the game, but there's a reason why his accolades continue to stack up.
x2 Alex Caruso: A
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Anticipating the pass, Caruso batted the ball down. Away from Braun's reach. The 32-year-old savvily grabbed the ball. As Holmgren laid a Gortat screen on Jokic, the OKC role player banked in the transition layup. The defense-to-offense sequence inched the door closer to being shut.
Caruso finished with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, one rebound and one assist. He shot 2-of-6 from 3. He also had two steals.
At this point, the Nuggets gotta have nightmares about Caruso. He completely changed the game's energy when he was on the floor. Down double-digit points, the Thunder's second-unit lineup paired with Gilgeous-Alexander is how they were able to get back into this one.
And in the game's biggest moments, Caruso was on the floor. He scored eight points in the fourth quarter and overtime. He made a pair of critical outside jumpers to put the Thunder ahead. While he whiffed on a potential game-winning floater at the end of regulation, he made up for the goof in the final five minutes as OKC survived Gilgeous-Alexander's absence once again.
We already know how valuable Caruso is. Despite his pedestrian box scores, the advanced stats love him for a reason. He's the perfect extra boost of energy for OKC's chaotic style. On a roster littered with some of the best defenders, he's afforded the luxury to roam more and be more daring.
Once again, the Nuggets felt that firsthand. Caruso has been one of OKC's best players in that matchup. He has no problem going from hounding Murray in the perimeter or banging with Jokic down low. Last year's playoff series kinda showed that. This regular-season mayhem special was the latest example.
Jared McCain: A
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Quickly locating to the left-wing spot, McCain caught Joe's pass. The Thunder stole a possession and a bucket when the 22-year-old knocked down an outside jumper. Can't get more exclamatory than that to start a fourth quarter where you're looking for a spark.
McCain finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, two rebounds and one assist. He shot 2-of-3 from 3. He also had one steal.
Welcome to the Thunder-Nuggets rivalry, McCain. He added his first moment to it with eight points in the fourth quarter. He was part of OKC's second-unit lineup that absolutely blitzed Denver from the jump of the final frame. The jumper was on point as he quickly felt more confident with each swish.
Playing alongside Gilgeous-Alexander for the first time, McCain learned firsthand how the halfcourt's dimensions completely change. The attention he demands allows for other Thunder players to get plenty of open looks. That's playing with fire with the second-year guard. Ask Denver about it.
McCain continues to stack positive outings. The longer that time goes by, the more comfortable he looks. In a pseudo-playoff matchup, he was able to be the bucket-getter the Thunder likely envisioned when they added him at the trade deadline. Now it's about doing the same thing at that next level.
That's how you start the fourth quarter pic.twitter.com/Zak1gaqUNR
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) February 28, 2026
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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: Thunder get drama-filled 127-121 OT win over Nuggets
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