Player grades: SGA's 20-point streak ends in Thunder's 96-84 win over Nuggets

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OKLAHOMA CITY — Trailing the play, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander caught Alex Caruso's pass in rhythm. He went up for a pull-up transition 3-pointer that swished in. That was enough to finalize OKC's home opener. The two-time MVP ran a victory lap and went with his signature gun-shooting celebration.

The Oklahoma City Thunder got over an ugly start in a 96-84 win over the Denver Nuggets. It was a nice way to play out their home opener as they get things rolling for the 2026-27 NBA regular season.

After a psyched-up Opening Night win, the Thunder fell into a little bit of a Super Bowl hangover. The jumpers clanked the rim. Gilgeous-Alexander's outside jumper betrayed him. Thankfully for them, the Nuggets were equally as ugly. Nikola Jokic's outside-jumper love feast yielded little results.

The Thunder were in a 27-24 deficit after the first quarter. Not even the non-Jokic lineup provided them with a boost of confidence. Very few sparks materialized in a snooze-fest first half. Gilgeous-Alexander only had two points at the break. OKC scored just 20 points. It entered halftime with a 48-44 hole — something you'd take if you were them, considering how they looked.

After the halftime break, the Thunder played rejuvenated. It took less than two minutes into the second half to make it a brand-new ballgame. Jalen Williams drove downhill to tie things up. He then did a barrel roll after being tripped by Christian Braun in transition.

Playing with their mojo, the Thunder absolutely rocked the Nuggets. They had a game-altering 18-6 run. That included Chet Holmgren absolutely stuffing Braun at the rim on a poster attempt. And then Cason Wallace finding Williams for an alley-oop. Finally playing for real, they relied on their turnovers-to-fastbreak formula to completely take control of this national TV game.

To cap off their momentum, Gilgeous-Alexander finally drilled a pull-up 3-pointer on one end. And narrowly escaped fouling Jokic on a last-second heave on the other end. The Thunder put up 26 points in the third quarter. They suddenly had a 70-64 lead over the Nuggets.

Given another chance to run up the scoreboard as Jokic sat, the Thunder didn't let this opportunity slip through their fingers. Williams and the rest of OKC's second-unit absolutely blitzed Denver's depleted bench. Ajay Mitchell rediscovered his groove with bee-line drives to the rim for layups. They eventually ballooned their lead to double-digit territory.

For a season-opener, the Nuggets looked absolutely gassed. Not even Aaron Gordon's trickery struck fear in OKC's hearts. Jamal Murray was basically a non-factor. Eventually, the Thunder ran away with 26 points in the fourth quarter. The only drama left in the final five minutes was whether Gilgeous-Alexander could keep his historic 20-point streak alive.

Turns out, the answer was no. But he was oh so close. He had a minute to get three points. Instead, the two-time MVP opted to sit it out as the Nuggets waved the white flag. That turned into the main storyline of a pretty-forgettable game in the aftermath.

The Thunder shot 38% from the field and went 11-of-43 (25.6%) from 3. They shot 13-of-14 on free throws. They had 22 assists on 36 baskets. Four Thunder players scored double-digit points.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 17 points on 19 shot attempts. Holmgren continued his hot start with 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks. Williams put up 21 points and five rebounds. Mitchell had 12 points and five steals off the bench.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets shot 38% from the field and went 8-of-30 (26.7%) from 3. They shot 14-of-22 on free throws. They had 17 assists on 31 baskets. Three Nuggets players scored double-digit points.

Jokic chugged along for 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Gordon had 20 points and six rebounds. DeMar DeRozan scored 13 points in his debut as Denver's Sixth Man.

In terms of OKC home openers, this is about as flat as it gets. The Thunder crashed back down to Earth after a cathartic win over the San Antonio Spurs. Gilgeous-Alexander reached a new regular-season low. But the Nuggets gave them ample time to get over a sluggish start. Eventually, they woke up in the second half as the defensive machine had all its bells and whistles working.

This used to be a real NBA rivalry, man. Fireworks and real bangers were evergreen. But the Thunder have lapped the Nuggets. That's been the case for a couple of years now, too. Denver looked old and defeated from the jump. Even when it had the lead for most of the first half, it never felt real. Like it was only a matter of time before OKC splashed water in its face to wake up. And look what happened in the second half.

Let's look at Thunder player grades:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: D

Initially looking like Gilgeous-Alexander was going to stay for the final minute to chase 20 points, he pump-faked the viewing audience. Once he saw the Nuggets roll out their end-of-bench guys, he pivoted and walked back to the bench. The 28-year-old was content with ending his historic streak on his own terms.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting, three assists and two rebounds. He shot 3-of-11 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had one block.

Early in the regular season, Gilgeous-Alexander used the second game to experiment. He put on his lab coat and tried on his outside jumper. Let's just say the results weren't optimal. His obsession with continually hunting for it caused the Thunder to see their offense sink below efficiency levels. But the two-time MVP was willing to take that short-term loss if it meant others could eat on offense.

Gilgeous-Alexander was scoreless in the first quarter. He had two — yep, two — points at halftime. Wow. That's just something you never see. Him rolling out of bed on game day and putting up 20-plus points has been one of the few guarantees in life in the last two years. So to see him that quiet was a sight we haven't seen since before his NBA superstar leap earlier this decade.

Finally, Gilgeous-Alexander figured things out in the second half. His lethal jumper finally returned. Both in the mid-range and the outside. Distancing himself from constant drives to the rim, the 28-year-old would rather save that mileage on his legs for the future. But it came at the cost of his NBA-record 141 consecutive 20-point streak.

Bon voyage to one of Gilgeous-Alexander's prettiest feathers in his cap. Even though the Thunder were surprised by his decision to lay it to rest, they commended his ability to not recklessly chase stat lines. At this point in his career, rings would do him more good than niche statistical streaks.

Chet Holmgren: A-plus

Charging up a quiet OKC crowd, Holmgren jumped up with Braun. Almost disgusted at his bravado to go up for a poster, the All-NBA talent completely swallowed up his dunk attempt in a vicious block. Veins popped out of his neck as he screamed in celebration. The adrenaline rush was through the roof as he continued to play with a newborn confidence.

Holmgren finished with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 17 rebounds and two assists. He shot 0-of-1 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had four blocks.

I don't know what Holmgren did over the summer to get over his disastrous 2026 Western Conference Finals, but it's clearly worked. The early returns were more than anything his biggest optimist could've hoped for. He's outplayed Victor Wembanyama and Jokic — two of the NBA's best three players. Not just that, but he's just oozing confidence right now on both ends.

The defense remains impeccable. That was lost over the summer. But Holmgren is one of the two best rim protectors in the league. At worst. He completely junked up Denver's halfcourt offense. Jokic had to rely on pure-talent jumpers to get buckets. Nothing easy happened in the paint.

And then the offense remains simple — but effective. A lot of easy buckets for Holmgren at the rim. The Thunder fed him several alley-oops. That has been a feature of OKC's offense over the years. Especially out in transition after a momentum-shifting stop or turnover.

It's going to take a minute for Holmgren to regain the trust of the NBA world. Specifically, when talking about one of the game's best players. Fair or not, a Game 7 stinker sticks with you for a while. But man, these first two games have been the ultimate sign of encouragement. It feels like he productively took in an offseason of ridicule. The fork-in-the-road moment has netted positive results.

Jalen Williams: A-minus

Running the floor, Williams capped off the sequence of the night. He tag-teamed with fellow All-NBA talent in Holmgren for an awesome two-play sequence. Jumping off the hardwood, Wallace threw up a pass in stride. The 25-year-old caught it for a vicious alley-oop.

Williams finished with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, five rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-6 from 3 and went 5-of-6 on free throws.

Speaking of another season-defining guy, Williams has answered all doubts. The All-NBA talent has returned to his previous level of play. As the rest of the Thunder needed a half to wake up, he was one of their best players throughout the evening. He had 10 points in the first quarter alone.

It was back to the formula for Williams. Most of his buckets happened at the rim. And in transition, too. Once he gets going, he's unstoppable like a locomotive. Especially with Denver's slow and old frontcourt. This is what he looks like at the peak of his powers as a scorer. Sure, he can hit some highly-difficult jumpers, but he's at his best when he's running to the rim and receiving dunks.

On defense, Williams has helped the Thunder return to their turnover-creation machine. That was an element the Thunder missed last season. Even with their league-best defense. But now that he's back, that has returned. It has fueled several second-half runs over the years. You can add this game to the collection. Once OKC is on a roll like that, they swarm the ball like a bunch of six-plus-foot magnets.

Ajay Mitchell: B

After an ice-cold start to his year, Mitchell finally saw one of his floaters feather through. It had been a journey to get there, but seeing one was enough to get into a rhythm. Ugly misses were erased from his mind. He rediscovered his magic to slice through Denver's defense for driving layups.

Mitchell finished with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting. He shot 0-of-4 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. He also had five steals and one block.

This was the perfect bounce-back game candidate for Mitchell. Especially with how bad Denver's interior defense is. Sure, the outside jumper didn't fall, but he went back to his bread and butter of getting to the cup. That had happy results as he helped the Thunder look sharper in the second half.

Let's talk about the defense, though. I mean, five steals? C'mon man. That's ridiculous. There have been critiques of Mitchell's decision to bulk up over the summer. But his vastly-improved defense has made it well worth the price. The Nuggets couldn't run a functioning offense. They turned it over every other possession. He helped with that. If he can keep up this defensive prowess, then he'll always be a must-play candidate.

The Thunder are expecting a lot from Mitchell. They're anticipating a leap in importance. Sure, the offense is taking some time to get going. But that hasn't dented their confidence in him. Expect him to be a main rotation piece throughout the year. This is the first time in a couple of years that the bench is going through new faces and dynamics.

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This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Player grades: SGA's 20-point streak ends in Thunder's 96-84 win over Nuggets

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