The Oklahoma City Thunder ended their preseason with a dramatic finish Friday night, rallying from 16 points down to beat the Denver Nuggets 94-91 at Paycom Center.
Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng scored a game-high 17 points, including the game-winning 26-foot three-pointer at the buzzer. The win gave Oklahoma City a 4-2 preseason record ahead of Tuesday’s regular-season opener against the Houston Rockets at home. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
The Thunder started Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, who exited early with an injury. The reigning MVP finished with 12 points, four rebounds and five assists in the first half before sitting out the second.
The Nuggets rested stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, but newcomers Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown and Jonas Valanciunas made their preseason debuts and showed potential for Denver’s rotation this season.
OKC used a 16-0 run in the 4th quarter to propel the comeback victory.
“We just were persistent, which is what you have to do in a 48 minute game,” said OKC Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. “It was good lesson tonight. It went from 16 to six or four very quickly. You don’t have to hit home runs in a 48 minute game. You just have to play the next possession well and let the power of that compounding happen.”
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