OKLAHOMA CITY — After Ousmane Dieng met DaRon Holmes II at the rim for a block, a scramble drill on the other end had the ball in his hands in the final seconds. A pump-fake bought him space. A step-through helped him swish in an outside prayer for the buzzer-beater game-winner. Talk about an entertaining way to finish the preseason.

The Oklahoma City Thunder completed a 16-point comeback in their 94-91 preseason win over the Denver Nuggets. Before the games will start to count for real, fans were treated to an exciting final moment against the team tabbed as their biggest threat.

Before Dieng Mania took over, the first half was viewed as a test run of what the Thunder and Nuggets could maybe look like. The latter sat out Nikola Jokic and other starters, but a deep bench still put up a good fight against OKC’s likele Opening Night starters.

The Thunder had a slight 22-21 lead after the first quarter. In Chet Holmgren’s first preseason action, he was frequently featured. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander fed him the ball. The double-big lineup with Isaiah Hartenstein took turns feeding each other buckets.

Everything went well on that end. The other end was the problem. The Nuggets’ bench lineup was on fire from the outside. Tim Hardaway Jr. had one of his hot streaks. Julian Strawther looked like somebody who could leap. Denver had 38 points in the second frame alone. The Thunder entered halftime in a 59-46 deficit.

That was enough for the starters. The Thunder sat out Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest for the second half. The next time they suit up, it’ll be for Opening Night in a few days. Meanwhile, the Nuggets kept their bench players in it. Likely because there weren’t other alternatives.

The Thunder had 20 points in the third quarter. The Nuggets still had a 75-66 lead. The sparse crowd began to file out as they saw enough to justify their tickets. And while everybody was stuck on their phones, OKC slowly chipped away at its double-digit deficit.

After Strawther’s 3-pointer gave Denver an 85-69 lead, it went scoreless for the next seven minutes. That allowed the Thunder to rattle off 17 points in a row. Suddenly, they had an 86-85 lead to flip the scoreboard with Dieng as the catalyst.

The Nuggets finally snapped out of it. Tied at 91 points apiece in the final seconds, the Nuggets had had several chances on second-chance looks to score a go-ahead bucket. Instead, they provided Dieng the runway to hit a circus game-winner in the final seconds. The Thunder finished with 28 points in the fourth quarter.

The entire Thunder squad stormed the court to celebrate with Dieng. It’s been an inconsistent four-season stint in OKC, but this was definitely one of the highlights of his career. Clutch bucket after clutch bucket down the stretch showed what he could do.

The Thunder shot 41% from the field and went 15-of-53 (28.3%) from 3. They shot 11-of-13 on free throws. They had 22 assists on 34 baskets. Three Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 12 points and five assists. Dieng finished with 17 points and four rebounds. Cason Wallace had 10 points and four rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets shot 37% from the field and went 17-of-45 (37.8%) from 3. They shot 10-of-17 on free throws. They had 23 assists on 32 baskets. Five Nuggets players scored double-digit points.

Peyton Watson had 15 points and six rebounds. Hardaway Jr. scored 13 points that felt louder. Strawther had 14 points. Jalen Pickett had 12 points and four assists. Bruce Brown finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

A frustrating start as the Thunder starters couldn’t keep up with the Nuggets’ bench turned into a celebration with a strong second half. Dieng showed his coolness under pressure and the creative handle he has paired with his great size.

That’s the end of the preseason schedule. Now, the Thunder will prepare for the real deal. The 2025-26 regular season is right around the corner. Which means the NBA champion will soon start their defense as they hope to go back-to-back.

Let’s look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: C

Suiting up one last time in the preseason, Gilgeous-Alexander had one final tune-up before the real deal begins. In a rematch of arguably the most entertaining playoff series last year, the MVP winner took it easy and let his teammates do most of the driving.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting, five assists and four rebounds. He shot 2-of-2 from 3. He also had one steal. He did all that in 18 first-half minutes before he sat out the second half.

It felt like Gilgeous-Alexander decided to take a backseat to let his teammates get a chance to shine. The consistent 30-point scorer utilized his gravity to give them some room to work with. He didn’t hunt his shot and played within the flow of the offense. That resulted in a catch-and-shoot look from the outside that OKC hopes to incorporate into the regular season.

At home against the Nuggets, this was a good opportunity to get some preseason reps. In his three appearances, he looked like somebody ready to be the NBA’s top scorer again and contend for a possible second MVP and championship ring.

Chet Holmgren: B

Finally making his preseason debut, Holmgren made up for lost time. A mixture of rest and shoulder soreness delayed his first exhibition until the finale. The first couple of plays showed what the Thunder hope to see in the regular season.

Rolling to the basket, Hartenstein found him for a big-to-big alley-oop. On OKC’s next possession, Gilgeous-Alexander kicked it out for a catch-and-shoot outside bucket. He hunted for his shot in his lone half of preseason action.

Holmgren finished with nine points on 3-of-8 shooting, six rebounds and three assists. He shot 1-of-4 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had one block and one steal. He played 19 minutes before he sat out the second half.

Of course, the caveat of Jokic and Gordon being out exists. But Holmgren looked solid in his lone preseason action. He was aggressive with his shot-hunting. The Thunder will need that to carry over into the regular season if Jalen Williams misses time. Because suddenly, he’ll be looked at as their second scorer.

Ousmane Dieng: A-plus

The star of the night. Let’s be real. Dieng’s tenure in OKC hasn’t gone the way either side hoped it would. When the Thunder added him, they envisioned a smooth modern-day forward who could handle the ball and create his own jumper. Instead, he’s been buried on the depth chart as the team suddenly saw itself become a title contender.

For a single game, everything went well. Dieng looked like Paul George. He danced with the basketball all the way to the cup. Denver’s third-string defenders couldn’t stay on him. He showed his rhythm with some daring stepback jumpers that swished in.

Dieng finished with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 2-of-7 from 3 and went 3-of-4 on free throws. He also had one steal and one block. 13 of his points came in the fourth quarter alone.

At tipoff, not much was thought of Dieng. He was at the end of the bench. With a few preseason struggles, he turned into somebody everybody has mentally moved on from. By the end of the game, he was the headliner. He trended on social media. That’s the beauty of a game-winner.

Cason Wallace: C

Wallace was fed plenty of ball-handler reps until his stomach was full. And then some. Preseason is where you experiment the most. It’s the closest you get to low-leverage situations outside of blowouts. There were some mixed results in his aspirations to take the next step.

Wallace finished with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. He shot 2-of-6 from 3.

To start the second half, the Thunder handed the keys to the offense to Wallace. The starters sat out. That let him run what was essentially their second unit. Not the best of signs that little was produced in the halfcourt during that frame.

The Thunder went with Caruso over Wallace among the starters. That’s interesting. If that happens on Opening Night, it’d be a little surprising. Caruso was a bench player all of last season, while Wallace was the unofficial sixth starter. If they flip roles, that could be a new wrinkle to a team whose roster is mostly the same.

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