The Denver Nuggets have had their struggles against the NBA’s top teams recently, and despite having a great chance to pick up their best win of the season on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, they could not get the job done.
The Nuggets fell in overtime to the Thunder 127-121, despite having a chance to take the lead in the final seconds of regulation. Cam Johnson’s go-ahead three-point attempt was just off, and the Nuggets were ultimately outscored 20-14 in overtime, even though reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did not touch the court in the extra period.
While this was a crushing loss that the Nuggets let slip away from them, here is what we learned in Friday’s marquee matchup.
The best duo in the NBA
Despite the loss, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were incredible on Friday night in Oklahoma City. Murray, in his own “flu game,” led the Nuggets with 39 points, eight rebounds, and six assists on 12-26 shooting from the field and 7-13 from beyond the arc. The All-Star point guard scored ten of Denver’s 14 overtime points, and nine of them came in the final 30 seconds on three tough triples.
Jokic had an interesting game himself, dropping 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 14 assists, but shot just 9-25 from the field and 2-10 from beyond the arc. He was a team-high +15 in the game, though, showing how valuable he was while on the floor.
The Nuggets are at their best when Jokic and Murray are both playing at this level, and the fact that they stepped up to the plate against the NBA’s top team is a showcase of what they are capable of, even though it resulted in a loss.
Jokic hates the Thunder
Things initially got chippy on Friday night when Gilgeous-Alexander was called for a technical foul after chucking the ball at Jokic, but that was not what sent Denver’s superstar over the edge.
Thunder guard Lu Dort had a cheap shot when he body-checked Jokic, and the three-time MVP quickly got up and got right in Dort’s face. Thunder big man Jaylin Williams quickly ran to back up his teammate, causing a big scuffle between the two teams. Jokic appeared to throw a semi-punch in the middle of it, but Dort was the one ultimately ejected while Jokic and Williams both received technicals.
NIKOLA JOKIC VS. LU DORT & JAYLIN WILLIAMS —
THINGS ARE GETTING CHIPPY. 🍿🔥
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 28, 2026
The Thunder certainly get under Jokic’s skin, and there are plenty of reasons for the superstar center to have a distaste for his growing rival, especially when Dort pulls stuff like that.
Nuggets need to win these games
While it was a valiant effort, and a game they should have won, there cannot be any moral victories for the Nuggets at this stage. This Denver team is far too good to let a game like this slip away. Not only did they lead by as many as 16 points, but they were dominated in overtime by a Thunder team playing without Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams.
The Nuggets have now lost eight of their last nine games against expected playoff teams, including two losses to the Thunder. It is no secret that if the Nuggets want to win a title this season, they will have to go through Oklahoma City. Of course, the circumstances will be much different in a seven-game playoff series, especially hoping that the Nuggets will be healthy, but these are the types of games they need to learn how to win.
Denver has not been impressive in the slightest in clutch games, and Friday’s loss was another example.
The Nuggets now move on to another challenging matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.