March 10, 2026, 8:00 p.m. CT
At this point, you can expect some extracurricular activities when the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets square off. For the second straight time, it involved the same two characters.
The Thunder came away with a 129-126 win over the Nuggets. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had one of his best nights ever. He tied Wilt Chamberlain for the longest 20-point streak in league history. On top of that, he hit the game-winner on a stepback 3-pointer.
Tied up at 126 points with eight seconds left, the Thunder were only in that position because of a costly couple of mistakes. Two four-point plays in the final 72 seconds cracked the door wide open after it was previously slammed shut.
The Thunder made some critical mistakes down the stretch that saw a 121-113 lead with two minutes to go suddenly melt away. The first involved Lu Dort and Nikola Jokic. Those two have been linked together for the last 10 days.
In OKC’s 127-121 overtime win over Denver on Feb. 27, Dort was ejected in the fourth quarter. He tripped Jokic on a routine inbounds pass. The three-time MVP winner had to get separated as steam came out of his ears from pure anger. The referees eventually ruled it a flagrant two foul.
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Dort eventually apologized. So did Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault for his postgame comments. The Nuggets seemed indifferent toward the apology. Either way, both sides were ready to move on and focus on basketball. And that mostly happened — aside from one blemish.
Once again, Dort was called for a flagrant foul. This time, though, it was more innocuous. He smacked Jokic in the face as he tried to go over his screen. The referees decided it warranted a flagrant foul. Just a level one, though, so no ejection.
Jokic split his free-throw trips. But nailed an outside jumper. Just like that, the Nugget were back in it thanks to a four-point play. Of course, both sides were asked about the flagrant foul. After all, NBA fans love the drama as much as they love the actual basketball.
Dort told ESPN he reconciled with Jokic afterward. Both sides had no hard feelings and understood the hit to the face was just part of the competition. When some of the greatest athletes in the world are going 100-plus MPH in a limited space, collisions are bound to happen.
“Just lost in the competition,” Dort said. “But shook his hand, (said) ‘great game’ and I apologized that that happened.”
Dort said he didn’t believe a flagrant foul was warranted. Maybe he has a point in a vacuum. But by now, it feels like his reputation has lost him the benefit of the doubt on bang-bang calls — whether that’s fair or not.
“I didn’t mean to hit him in the face,” Dort said. “But when I go over screens and stuff like that, my arms are just everywhere, and then unfortunately I just hit him in the face… I didn’t think it was a flagrant 1. Unnecessary means I did (it) on purpose, which I didn’t.”
Three games and three bangers between the Thunder and Nuggets this season. While OKC has won all three, the last two have been by the skin of its teeth. Last year’s playoff series was arguably the best. Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic showed why they’re the consensus best two players in the league. The Dort theatrics are just an added layer of drama for fans.