The Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Denver Nuggets in a convincing fashion 119-93 to end their 6-game winning streak on Friday night.
Played the Thunder Way ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/jZyvwlZQsJ
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 30, 2023
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander notched an unbelievable 40 points for the fifth time this season, just 4 shy of his career best.
“He was just cruising. He let the game come to him,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It never seemed like he was forcing. Played the right way throughout, made the right passes, kept them honest. It’s kind of routine at this point but he played a great game.”
With the win Oklahoma leapfrog Denver, who have lost only 3 home games this season, two of which have come against the same opponent.
Star man Nikola Jokic finished off with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Serb was kept relatively quiet for his usually very high standards.
“You’ve got to be clean with the ball, you can’t play in a crowd,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of the turnovers. “It’s something they do to most teams, but you’re not going to give yourself a chance to win when you allow them to play to their strength.”