{"id":175625,"date":"2026-02-02T17:56:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=175625"},"modified":"2026-02-02T17:56:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:56:19","slug":"thunder-silence-doubts-121-111-win-over-denver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/02\/02\/thunder-silence-doubts-121-111-win-over-denver\/","title":{"rendered":"Thunder Silence Doubts In 121\u2013111 Win Over Denver"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Thunder beat the Nuggets 121-111, foreshadowing a potential Western Conference final matchup. This victory came after a poor stretch for the Thunder<\/a>. They lost three of their last four matches, with the most recent being against the Timberwolves. This naturally caused a lot of negativity to swirl around OKC. Is a slump predictive of one? With the former MVP, <\/span>Nikola Joki\u0107<\/span><\/a>, returning, with his second game back from injury, it looked as though it was going to be a tough matchup for the Thunder. This was, however, a great showing for OKC. They took Denver stars Joki\u0107 and Jamal Murray<\/a> out of the game, and had one of the best offensive showings of the calendar year. The Thunder vs Nuggets game reassured that OKC is still a force to be reckoned with both in the Western Conference and the entire NBA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thunder Silence Doubts In 121\u2013111 Win Over Denver<\/b><\/h2>\n

Gilgeous-Alexander And Wallace Power Elite Offensive Night<\/b><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s impossible to discuss this game without talking about <\/span>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s<\/span><\/a> performance. He had an MVP-caliber nigh<\/a>t with 34 points, a season-high 13 assists, and five rebounds. He not only carried the scoring load but also orchestrated the offense. Teams have consistently tested him as a playmaker throughout the game. <\/span>Cason Wallace<\/span><\/a> also had a stellar performance. Wallace recorded a career-high 27 points while knocking down a career-best seven 3-pointers. He\u2019s typically known for his defense, but in this game, every look he saw from beyond the arc, he capitalized. This game against Denver was an elite offensive showing for OKC. Their offense, and more specifically their ability to shoot the three-ball, has been in question during their poor run of games. Seeing them shoot 40% from three versus a team that they will likely see in the playoffs definitely relieves worries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defensive Adjustments Limit Joki\u0107 And Murray<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Feb 1, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) controls the ball as Denver Nuggets guard Bruce Brown (11) guards in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This game was a defense bounce-back after a tough showing against Minnesota. OKC\u2019s defensive plan was clear from the start. They wanted someone outside of Joki\u0107 and Murray <\/span>to beat them. Rather, it was in isolation or pick-and-roll actions. OKC made sure everything was difficult. Both stars consistently saw extra help, forcing them to pass rather than shoot, often leading to errors. The pair combined for only 28 points with seven turnovers.<\/span> Peyton Watson<\/span><\/a>, however, had a standout night in their absence. He finished with a team-high 29 points, five rebounds, and three assists.<\/span><\/p>\n

OKC Steadies Itself After A Turbulent Stretch<\/b><\/h3>\n

This game served as a needed reset for OKC. The Thunder vs Nuggets game directly addressed the offensive concerns facing the team. The fixture showcased SGA\u2019s ability to pass the ball and the reliability of OKC’s outside shooting. Additionally, they proved that they still have the most lethal defense in the league. The Thunder are looking as though they are regaining the form in which they can beat any title-contending team on any given night. OKC will look to build on this momentum as they are set to host the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, who are coming off a nine-point loss to the Spurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Featured Image: \u00a0Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Thunder beat the Nuggets 121-111, foreshadowing a potential Western Conference final matchup. This victory came after a poor stretch for the Thunder. They lost three of their last four matches, with the most recent being against the Timberwolves. This naturally caused a lot of negativity to swirl around OKC. Is a slump predictive of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5752,"featured_media":175642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,22],"tags":[4776,109,72,1489],"class_list":["post-175625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-thunder","tag-cason-wallace","tag-jamal-murray","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander"],"modified_by":"Benjamin Yu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5752"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175625"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":175646,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175625\/revisions\/175646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}