Game ID: 22400177
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Denver Nuggets
Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 9:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 30 25 40 29 124OKC 32 34 29 27 122
DEN vs OKC ScoutingDEN vs OKC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 10/29 · back-to-backOUT Pickett missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 3 since 10/24, out tonight
OUT Nnaji missed 2 since 10/26, out tonight
NEW Gordon 30 to 37 min over the last 3
DEN availability going into 11/01 · 2 days' restOUT Pickett missed 3 since 10/26, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 4 since 10/24, out tonight
OUT Nnaji missed 3 since 10/26, out tonight
NEW Gordon 30 to 36 min over the last 4
DEN availability going into 11/02 · back-to-backOUT Pickett missed 4 since 10/26, returns tonight: 2 min (17% of 13)
OUT Jordan missed 5 since 10/24, returns tonight: 14 min (123% of 12)
OUT Nnaji missed 4 since 10/26, returns tonight: 4 min (40% of 10)
NEW Gordon 30 to 36 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's restBACK Pickett back 11/02 after 4, 2 min since (17% of 13)
BACK Jordan back 11/02 after 5, 14 min since (123% of 12)
BACK Nnaji back 11/02 after 4, 4 min since (40% of 10)
DEN availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 2 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Šarić missed 2 since 11/02, out tonight
BACK Pickett back 11/02 after 4, 2 min since (17% of 13)
BACK Jordan back 11/02 after 5, 10 min since (89% of 12)
BACK Nnaji back 11/02 after 4, 9 min since (88% of 10)
DEN availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 3 since 11/02, returns tonight: 35 min (94% of 37)
OUT Šarić missed 3 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Pickett missed 2 since 11/04, out tonight
BACK Jordan back 11/02 after 5, 10 min since (89% of 12)
BACK Nnaji back 11/02 after 4, 10 min since (95% of 10)
DEN availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restOUT Gordon missed 2 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Šarić missed 4 since 11/02, out tonight
OUT Pickett missed 3 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 2 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Murray back 11/08 after 3, 35 min since (94% of 37)
BACK Nnaji back 11/02 after 4, 8 min since (79% of 10)
DEN availability going into 11/15 · 4 days' restOUT Gordon missed 3 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Šarić missed 5 since 11/02, returns tonight: 34 min (257% of 13)
OUT Pickett missed 4 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 3 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Murray back 11/08 after 3, 36 min since (99% of 37)
BACK Nnaji back 11/02 after 4, 8 min since (83% of 10)
NEW Watson 23 to 31 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 11/17 · 1 day's restOUT Gordon missed 4 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Pickett missed 5 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 4 since 11/06, returns tonight: 14 min (124% of 12)
BACK Murray back 11/08 after 3, 39 min since (104% of 37)
BACK Šarić back 11/15 after 5, 34 min since (257% of 13)
NEW Watson 23 to 33 min over the last 5
OKC availability going into 10/30 · 2 days' rest
full strength
OKC availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's rest
full strength
OKC availability going into 11/02 · back-to-back
full strength
OKC availability going into 11/04 · 1 day's rest
full strength
OKC availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's rest
full strength
OKC availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's rest
full strength
OKC availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's rest
full strength
OKC availability going into 11/11 · back-to-back
full strength
OKC availability going into 11/13 · 1 day's restNEW Joe 19 to 25 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 121, shooting 49 percent and 42 from three, 33 free throws a game; Jokić at 30 and Porter Jr. at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Murray (2 straight). One day's rest. OKC comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 98, shooting 48 percent and 40 from three, 19 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 26 and Jal. Williams at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 98 a night to Denver's 121 and the line, where Denver takes 33 free throws a game to OKC's 19. Call it OKC 115, Denver 111, Denver keeping it close.
10/29 @ BKN 144-139 — DEN notes
DEN won 144-139 in 1 overtime. DEN shot 52% (46 of 89) to BKN's 51%, 13 of 27 from three, and went to the line 47 times to BKN's 27 — 39 points from the stripe to their 21. Jokić led with 29 (9 of 16, 11 of 13 at the line); Murray added 24, Gordon 24. The hinge was Q3, 33-27: the deficit went from 9 to 3. DEN trailed 63-72 at the half and won the second half 81-67. Braun was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
11/01 @ MIN 116-119 — DEN notes
DEN lost 116-119. DEN took 9 more shots (92 to 83), fed by 17 offensive rebounds, but shot 45% to MIN's 52%, 11 of 32 from three, and went to the line 29 times to MIN's 18 — 23 points from the stripe to their 15. Gordon led with 31 (11 of 18, 5 of 7 from three); Jokić added 26, Porter Jr. 26. Q4 was theirs, 31-28, the deficit cut from 6 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 91-85 against them. They led by as many as 10.
11/02 vs UTA 129-103 — DEN notes
DEN won 129-103. DEN shot 48% (48 of 99) to UTA's 42%, 16 of 32 from three, and got to the line 23 times to UTA's 31. DEN turned it over 17 times to UTA's 22. The glass went 52-39 for them. Jokić led with 27 (10 of 18, 3 of 4 from three); Porter Jr. added 20, Strawther 19. The hinge was Q3, 34-19: a lead of 9 became 24, and the lead reached 28. Jokić was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
11/04 vs TOR 121-119 — DEN notes
DEN won 121-119. DEN shot 49% (41 of 83) to TOR's 46%, 10 of 31 from three, and went to the line 38 times to TOR's 18 — 29 points from the stripe to their 12. Jokić led with 28 (10 of 22, 1 of 5 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Westbrook added 21, Porter Jr. 19. The hinge was Q4, 33-26: DEN came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 2. DEN trailed 59-64 at the half and won the second half 62-55.
11/06 vs OKC 124-122 — DEN notes
DEN won 124-122. DEN shot 47% (42 of 89) to OKC's 44%, 16 of 38 from three, and went to the line 33 times to OKC's 23 — 24 points from the stripe to their 18. Westbrook led with 29 (10 of 15, 3 of 4 from three, 6 of 9 at the line); Porter Jr. added 24, Braun 24. The hinge was Q3, 40-29: DEN came in trailing by 11 and left it level. DEN trailed 55-66 at the half and won the second half 69-56. Strawther was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
11/08 vs MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 120, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 34 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Porter Jr. at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Murray (3 straight). One day's rest. Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Herro at 25 and Butler III at 20 a game. Without Jaquez Jr. (2 straight), Smith (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Miami allowing 108 a night to Denver's 120 and the line, where Denver takes 34 free throws a game to Miami's 24. Call it Denver 117, Miami 113, Miami keeping it close.
11/10 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 28 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Porter Jr. at 22 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Gordon (2 straight). One day's rest. Dallas comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 108, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; Dončić at 30 and Irving at 24 a game. Without Washington (2 straight), Lively II (3 straight), Kleber (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-8 a night and Dallas minus-3 and the arc, Denver at 42 percent from three to Dallas's 34. Call it Denver 117, Dallas 114, Dallas keeping it close.
11/15 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 101 a night and allowing 115, shooting 43 percent and 32 from three, 18 free throws a game; Ingram at 20 and Alvarado at 17 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without McCollum (8 straight), Murray (11 straight), Jones (8 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 117, shooting 51 percent and 45 from three, 28 free throws a game; Jokić at 29 and Porter Jr. at 20 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Gordon (3 straight). 4 days' rest.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Denver at 45 percent from three to New Orleans's 32 and the line, where Denver takes 28 free throws a game to New Orleans's 18. Call it Denver 118, New Orleans 112.
11/17 @ MEM — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Memphis comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; Jackson Jr. at 28 and Wells at 14 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Morant (4 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 40 from three, 25 free throws a game; Jokić at 30 and Porter Jr. at 21 a game. Without Gordon (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Memphis wins, and the game turns on the arc, Denver at 40 percent from three to Memphis's 34 and the glass, where Memphis has been plus-5 a night and Denver plus-0. Call it Memphis 121, Denver 115.
10/30 vs SAS 105-93 — OKC notes
OKC won 105-93. OKC shot 46% (41 of 89) to SAS's 41%, 17 of 41 from three. OKC turned it over 10 times to SAS's 22. The glass went 39-52 against them. Dort led with 20 (7 of 9, 6 of 8 from three); Holmgren added 19, Gilgeous-Alexander 18. The hinge was Q2, 33-25: a lead of 7 became 15, and the lead reached 19. Williams was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
11/01 @ POR 137-114 — OKC notes
OKC won 137-114. OKC shot 54% (51 of 95) to POR's 47%, 19 of 49 from three, and got to the line 19 times to POR's 31. OKC turned it over 13 times to POR's 19. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 30 (12 of 18, 1 of 6 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Williams added 22, Wiggins 13. The hinge was Q3, 38-17: from level to 21 ahead, and the lead reached 28. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
11/02 @ LAC 105-92 — OKC notes
OKC won 105-92. OKC shot 43% (36 of 84) to LAC's 41%, 16 of 39 from three, and got to the line 19 times to LAC's 26. OKC turned it over 12 times to LAC's 20. Gilgeous-Alexander led with 25 (7 of 14, 2 of 4 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Dort added 16, Williams 15. The hinge was Q4, 24-14: a lead of 3 became 13, and the lead reached 18. OKC trailed 53-57 at the half and won the second half 52-35. Joe was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/04 vs ORL 102-86 — OKC notes
OKC won 102-86. OKC shot 46% (39 of 85) to ORL's 35%, 12 of 31 from three, and got to the line 16 times to ORL's 27. Williams led with 23 (10 of 17, 3 of 7 from three); Gilgeous-Alexander added 21, Holmgren 14. The hinge was Q1, 39-26: from level to 13 ahead, and the lead reached 26. Gilgeous-Alexander was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
11/06 @ DEN 122-124 — OKC notes
OKC lost 122-124. OKC took 11 more shots (100 to 89), fed by 13 offensive rebounds, but shot 44% to DEN's 47%, 16 of 40 from three, and got to the line 23 times to DEN's 33. Williams led with 29 (11 of 20, 4 of 8 from three); Gilgeous-Alexander added 28, Holmgren 15. Q2 was theirs, 34-25, but the other 3 periods went 99-88 against them. They led by as many as 16.
11/08 vs HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 102, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 24 and Jal. Williams at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest. Houston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 105, shooting 46 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; Green at 20 and Sengun at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-5 a night and OKC minus-4 and the arc, OKC at 40 percent from three to Houston's 32. Call it OKC 111, Houston 106.
11/10 vs GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 105, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 27 and Jal. Williams at 21 a game. One day's rest. Golden State comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Curry at 21 and Hield at 17 a game. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 105 a night to Golden State's 114 and the line, where Golden State takes 27 free throws a game to OKC's 20. Call it OKC 115, Golden State 110.
11/11 vs LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 25 and Jal. Williams at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 102, shooting 46 percent and 42 from three, 23 free throws a game; Powell at 26 and Harden at 19 a game. That is 4 straight wins. They have won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the glass, where the Clippers have been plus-4 a night and OKC minus-6 and the turnovers, the Clippers giving it away 15 times a game to OKC's 12. Call it OKC 110, the Clippers 105.
11/13 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 29 and Jal. Williams at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 119, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Ingram at 23 and Boston at 16 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without McCollum (7 straight), Murray (10 straight), Jones (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it OKC 120, New Orleans 106, OKC by 14.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
OKCAC A. Caruso
AM A. Mitchell
AW A. Wiggins
CH C. Holmgren
CW C. Wallace
IJ I. Joe
JW J. Williams
LD L. Dort
OD O. Dieng
SG S. Gilgeous-Alexander
DENCB C. Braun
HT H. Tyson
JS J. Strawther
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RW R. Westbrook
ZN Z. Nnaji
OKC/DEN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Watson seals 124-122 win for Nuggets with blocked shot in final second, handing Thunder 1st loss
DENVER -- — Russell Westbrook scored 29 points, Peyton Watson blocked a shot in the closing seconds after missing a pair of free throws at the other end and the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets rallied to beat Oklahoma City 124-122 on Wednesday night to hand the Thunder their first loss of the season.
Nikola Jokic finished with 23 points, 20 rebounds and 16 assists as the Nuggets rebounded from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter. Christian Braun added 24.
Michael Porter Jr . came up big after a slow start, scoring 21 of his 24 points in the second half. The short-handed Nuggets were without power forward Aaron Gordon (strained calf) and point guard Jamal Murray (concussion protocol).
Watson had a chance to seal the game at the line with 16 seconds left but missed both free throws. He made up for it by swatting the shot of a driving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just before the buzzer sounded.
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points.
Takeaways Thunder: So defensively sound, the Thunder allowed 69 points in the second half. They entered the contest giving up a league-low 95.9 points a game.
Nuggets: At times, Denver struggled to keep its cool. In addition to coach Michael Malone, Westbrook was given a technical. They kept their cool down the stretch.
Key moment Down 108-106, the Nuggets went on a 17-7 run to take control of the game. The youngsters, Julian Strawther and Watson, played pivotal roles in that stretch.
Key stat For the seventh time in eight games, the Nuggets were outscored in the first quarter (32-30).
Up next The Nuggets host the Miami Heat on Friday and the Thunder kick off a six-game homestand on the same night against Houston Rockets .