Feb. 2, 2026, 12:52 a.m. CT
Poking the ball away from Nikola Jokic’s possession, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the fastbreak. Scanning his options, the playmaker went with the old-school bounce pass to Cason Wallace for the transition dunk. That was enough for the home squad to call a timeout and wave the white flag.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a statement in their 121-111 win over the Denver Nuggets. Leading the entire night, the reigning NBA champions had no problem getting up for this matchup with a team most pencil in as their biggest foe to go back-to-back.
Saving this matchup until Sunday Night Basketball’s debut, the NBA schedule-makers made the smart move and NBC got more than it hoped for. This playoff-esque matchup lived up to its main event billing. Both teams brought it from the jump as Denver and OKC each had this matchup circled.
The Thunder scored the first bucket and never looked back. Even with momentum on Denver’s side. Peyton Watson posterized Chet Holmgren on a highlight play that had everybody jump off their couch. Regardless, OKC kept its composure. As both teams had 2K-like shot-making, it pulled away early on the scoreboard.
The Thunder had a 32-26 lead after the first quarter. Anytime Gilgeous-Alexander was blitzed, Cason Wallace served as an escape valve from deep. Eventually, the reigning MVP had his scoring chances on one-on-one plays. The scoring flurry continued through the second frame.
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After getting some surprise contributions from Wallace and Aaron Wiggins, the Thunder scored 30 points in the second quarter to keep their distance on the scoreboard. They entered halftime with a modest 62-55 lead over the Nuggets.
Coming out of the break, the Nuggets made an honest effort to overtake the lead. Despite all of the vibes on OKC’s side of things, the scoreboard didn’t reflect that. Eight straight points in the early part of the second half had Denver back within three points.
Watson continued his hot scoring. It wasn’t just the outside jumpers, but he also created some off the dribble. At just 74-71 with over six minutes left in the third quarter, it felt like we were due a thriller that would come down to the final possessions.
About that.
The Thunder went on a 22-9 run to slam the door shut. Wallace went unconscious from deep. He had 23 points and his seventh 3-pointer forced Denver to call a timeout as OKC was suddenly back up 83-74 with five minutes to go in the third frame. Both were career-best marks. The Thunder scored 39 points in the third quarter to balloon a 101-85 lead.
The fourth quarter turned inconsequential. The Thunder scored 20 points as the Nuggets prettied up the final margin. Gilgeous-Alexander came in to close things out with a couple of dagger mid-range jumpers. To go along with this Chris-Paul-esque playmaking, the game has never looked easier for the supernova player.
The Thunder shot 47% from the field and went 19-of-48 (39.6%) from 3. They shot 22-of-27 on free throws. They had 23 assists on 40 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.
Gilgeous-Alexander led the way with an efficient 34 points and 13 assists. Wallace had a career night with 27 points and six rebounds. Holmgren had 14 points and four rebounds. Wiggins tallied 14 points and six rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets shot 49% from the field and went 16-of-35 (45.7%) from 3. They shot 17-of-24 on free throws. They had 29 assists on 39 baskets. Four Nuggets players scored double-digit points.
Jokic was limited to 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Murray struggled with 12 points and 12 assists. Watson went off for 29 points and five rebounds. Jonas Valanciunas had a fake 13 points.
Mentioned at the top, but what a statement win for the Thunder. It’s felt like they’ve sleptwalked over the last month and that has caused some panic with a mediocre record. As soon as the game started, the intensity level was just higher than most nights over the last few weeks. You can sense it through your TV screen.
As soon as Jokic returned, an MVP battle headlined this Sunday night matchup. You saw Gilgeous-Alexander completely run circles around the three-time MVP winner. His hands typed out how the game script was written. It was another level of pure basketball dominance you only see from the all-time greats.
Let’s look at Thunder player grades:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A-plus
Staring down Bruce Brown, Gilgeous-Alexander showed why it was a bad plan to leave him in isolation looks. He toyed with the Denver defender. First, with a behind-the-back dribble move. Baiting him to go left, the reigning MVP stomped to the baseline and swished in a highly-contested fadeaway mid-range jumper.
Yo-yoing Denver’s defense, Gilgeous-Alexander reached basketball nirvana. He finished with 34 points on 11-of-16 shooting, 13 assists and five rebounds. He shot 1-of-2 from 3 and went 11-of-13 on free throws. He also had two steals and a block.
If you want to know what it looks like when you master basketball at the highest level, roll back the tape in this one. Gilgeous-Alexander knew how badly the Thunder wanted this one. Dreaming through the last month, a win at Denver could be the exact jolt of energy OKC could utilize to get its confidence back.
The Thunder go as far as Gilgeous-Alexander will take them. He led them through a hostile environment and completely silenced it. The shot-making was legendary. Even when Denver tried every gimmick defense known in basketball lore, the reigning MVP had no problem getting to his spots.
Gilgeous-Alexander completely buried the Nuggets with his mid-range jumper. When they threatened to come back, he’d drill demoralizing jumpers. When that didn’t happen, he danced his way to the free-throw line. As Denver grew more insecure about what to do, he had them fall for several of his baits en route to a busy line at the charity stripe.
Putting this game away with a signature OKC third-quarter run, Gilgeous-Alexander had 12 points in the frame alone. He added seven more in the final frame to tie a nice bow on this one. He had complete control of this game from the jump, ala Peyton Manning in his prime.
And then there was the playmaking. I can’t keep burying the lede — this was one of Gilgeous-Alexander’s best games in that regard. The assist numbers never pop off, but anybody who can appreciate basketball’s nuances beyond the basic box score understands how much he weaponizes his one-of-one scoring gravity.
This game, though, was on a different level. Gilgeous-Alexander completely dissected Denver’s defense. Want to throw a double? Here you go, Wallace and other OKC role players. Want to pick him up full-court? No problem. That creates a man advantage elsewhere.
In a game where you can tell everybody was playing at a thousand miles per hour, Gilgeous-Alexander saw everything in slow motion. The Nuggets were hopeless. It didn’t matter if they tried out different defenders on him. He orchestrated how the game played out like John Williams in a ‘Star Wars’ film. Just special stuff.
Cason Wallace: A-plus
Curling from the right-wing to left-wing, Wallace caught Gilgeous-Alexander’s overhead pass. He calmly swished in the outside catch-and-shoot look to get things going on the opening possession. The quick bucket foreshadowed the career night the 22-year-old was about to have.
Wallace finished with 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting and six rebounds. He shot 7-of-11 from 3 and went 2-of-3 on free throws. He also had two steals.
Quoting John Wall — I ain’t never seen Wallace move like this. Zooming out, it’s OK to admit that he’s had a gross season on the offensive side of the ball. Not only has the outside shooting turned into a pumpkin, but the on-ball juice also remains vacant. It’s not the developmental arc you’d like to see in his third season.
So for him to step up and be the Robin to Gilgeous-Alexander’s Batman was surreal. Wallace had 11 points in the first half. Most games, you don’t even see him reach that total. And then his third quarter happened. In an out-of-body experience, he dropped 12 points — all on outside makes.
It reached the point where the Thunder were actively looking to feed the ball to Wallace. Gilgeous-Alexander knows what it’s like when you feel untouchable. So he wanted to make sure the 22-year-old put up as many shots as he could while he was in that mental space. He co-opted OKC’s third-quarter avalanche run to put this one away.
Just an unreal performance by Wallace. Where it was easily the best game of his career. Not just for the scoring explosion, but for what he did on the other end. Matched up with Murray, the first-time All-Star looked anything but his new career accolade. He became forgettable the entire night.
A lot of criticism has been made over the last few weeks about Gilgeous-Alexander’s supporting cast not carrying their weight. For at least one night, those comments were moot. Wallace helped the Thunder get their most impressive win of the season as an unlikely hero.
Chet Holmgren: B
Roaming the paint, Holmgren kept his eye on Jokic. Going with the post-up spin move, the 23-year-old lasered in. He met the three-time MVP winner in the air to swat away his attempt. Going with the flow, the first-time All-Star had his moments in this signature win.
Holmgren finished with 14 points on 3-of-10 shooting, four rebounds and one assist. He shot 1-of-7 from 3 and went 7-of-8 on free throws. He also had three blocks.
The jumper didn’t fall, but Holmgren helped in other ways. He remained aggressive as a scorer, which helped him have a busy night at the free-throw line. The box-score numbers don’t jump off the page, but there’s a reason why OKC comfortably won its minutes with him on the floor.
Even with the Nuggets’ hot scoring, they did very little inside the paint. Holmgren’s rim protection was flexed all night. There’s a reason why Jokic didn’t feel comfortable being a high-volume scorer. Instead, they relied on their jumpers to go in. And to their credit, they did for most of the night. It just didn’t matter because the Thunder did the same.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Wallace will grab all of the headlines, but Holmgren remained a steady force. Because of how the game played out, he wasn’t asked to step up as a scorer. When he can simply play within the flow of the offense, that’s when he’s at his best.
Aaron Wiggins: A
Getting the switch on Jokic, Wiggins went to work. A couple of behind-the-back dribbles had him in rhythm. Even when Brown closed out late, it didn’t matter. The 27-year-old jumped in the air and knocked down the deep pull-up 3-pointer at the top of the key.
Wiggins finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and six rebounds. He shot 3-of-6 from 3 and went 1-of-2 on free throws. He also had two steals and one block.
On the first anniversary of his 40-burger, Wiggins made himself comfortable inside Denver’s gym. You saw him play at peak form. The shot-making saw him break down Jokic a couple of times for pull-up 3-pointers. He also got past Valanciunas pretty easily for some pretty banked layups.
When Wiggins gets in a flow like this, he completely changes the dynamics of OKC’s offense. Badly needing someone else to be a secondary scorer, he’s shown he can become a bucket-getter. Injuries have forced him to be inconsistent in that regard, but you saw what it looks like at the top of his powers.
The Thunder entered Sunday night knowing what was at stake — asserting itself as the team to beat. Recent weeks have put that in jeopardy. But the reigning NBA champions showed why they remain the favorites as several role players finally had a hot night.
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