Championships and playoff series are not won in December — but the confidence from big wins now can carry over to the postseason.
That’s what Oklahoma City got Saturday night.
The Thunder were off to a 15-8 start and sitting second in the West when the defending champion Nuggets came to town with early MVP favorite Nikola Jokic leading the way — Denver was a measuring stick game.
Oklahoma City measured up. First Chet Holmgren recorded nine blocked shots.
Chet has NINE blocks tonight 🤯 The most BLK by anyone in a game so far this season.
— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2023
15 PTS \ 11 REB \ 9 BLK
Thunder-Nuggets | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/0okbYkQyfn pic.twitter.com/XjaHtW8JTl
Then, with the game on the line, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got into the lane and closed it out.
SHAI CALLED GAME WITH 0.9 REMAINING 😱
— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2023
THUNDER WIN IN DENVER. pic.twitter.com/L4MJxe87fk
SGA finished with 25 points and eight assists, but the Thunder had a balanced attack with Jalen Williams scoring 24 and Holmgren adding 17. Jokic led the Nuggets with 24 points and 12 assists, plus six rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. added 20 plus 11 rebounds, and Aaron Gordon had 16 points for Denver.
The Thunder are playing with the confidence of a team that belongs second in the West. What the team is building is real and we’ll see that in April and May this year.
