February 27, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) is defended by Oklahoma City Thunder center/forward Isaiah Hartenstein (55) and guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Chet Holmgren had 15 points and a career-high 21 rebounds and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 36 points in his return from injury to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 127-121 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Gilgeous-Alexander, playing his first game since suffering an abdominal strain on Feb. 3, helped the Thunder overcome an early 16-point deficit.
But even in overtime, Gilgeous-Alexander remained on the bench.
It wasn’t a problem as Alex Caruso continued his strong play from the end of regulation.
With the Thunder up by three and just over a minute left in OT, Caruso caught a pass from Tim Hardaway Jr. and finished with a layup.
Denver’s Jamal Murray hit three 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds to finish with 39 points, but Oklahoma City held on by making all eight of its free throws in that period.
The Thunder have won six of their last eight games and the Nuggets have won seven of their last 11 games.
Caruso hit a pair of big 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter, including one with 1:23 left, to give the Thunder a 107-105 win.
After Denver’s Nikola Jokic turned the ball over, Oklahoma City missed two opportunities to extend the lead, and Jokic tied the game with a hook shot with 38 seconds left.
Caruso drove to the basket in the final minute, but his floater hit the rim at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
With Gilgeous-Alexander playing 34 minutes, the Thunder kept their current most valuable player on the bench in overtime.
Jokic finished the game with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists, while teammate Christian Brown also had 23 points.
Early in the fourth quarter, after Jared McCain’s jumper put the Thunder up by two points, Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort stepped in front of Jokic and knocked Jokic to the ground as the Nuggets star went up the court.
When Jokic showed up and confronted Dort, the Thunder’s Jaylin Williams got in Jokic’s face.
Jokic briefly wrapped his hand around the back of Williams’ neck and Williams grabbed Jokic’s jersey.
After review, Dort had his foul upgraded to Flagrant-2 and was ejected. Jokic and Williams each received technical fouls.
Just a few minutes later, Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein was called for a flagrant foul after making contact around the eye area of Murray.
It didn’t take long for things to get shaky in a rematch of last season’s seven-game second-round playoff series.
Less than three minutes into the game, Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander found themselves at the center of a quick clash, with Gilgeous-Alexander taking exception after Jokic collided with Hartenstein.
Jokic was called for a foul, and with the game still going on, Gilgeous-Alexander threw the ball to Jokic, earning a technical foul.
–Field level media
