Thunder beat Nuggets as Gilgeous-Alexander's record scoring streak ends at 141 games

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 96-84 in their home opener at Paycom Center on Thursday night, improving to 2-0 to start the season. But the final score was not the headline. With 1 minute 43 seconds left and the outcome long decided, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 25-foot jumper for his 17th point of the night, then walked to the bench and asked out of the game. He finished three points short of 20, and with that, the longest scoring streak in NBA history ended at 141 consecutive games.

Gilgeous-Alexander had entered the night having scored at least 20 points in every regular-season game he played going back to Nov. 1, 2024, when he dropped 30 on the Portland Trail Blazers. The run, which carried him through two MVP awards and an NBA Finals MVP, had already passed Wilt Chamberlain's previous record for consecutive 20-point games. Against Denver, he missed 11 of his first 12 shots, scored only two points before halftime and finished 6-for-19 from the floor for his 17 points, well below his career scoring average.

A record ends on his own terms

Oklahoma City led comfortably by the time Gilgeous-Alexander was sent back in with just under seven minutes remaining, still stuck on seven points. His teammates worked to get him looks, but Denver's Christian Braun stayed glued to him, with Nikola Jokic helping off drives and Alex Caruso drawing defensive attention elsewhere. When his 25-footer finally fell, he had his 17th point and, with the game no longer in doubt, chose to sit the rest of it out rather than chase the number.

"He asked out at the end. That was his substitution … of all the things I admire about him, that's toward the top of the list. It shows tremendous class as a competitor," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said, according to NBA.com's account of the game.

Gilgeous-Alexander offered a simpler explanation for the decision. "I think you always treat the game with respect," he said. For context on how rare the streak was, CBS Sports noted that Chamberlain's own streaks topped out at 126 and 92 games in the early 1960s, Oscar Robertson once reached 79, and Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant each maxed out at 72 — all well short of Gilgeous-Alexander's mark.

Three big men and a shaky night for Denver's stars

The Thunder did not need their MVP to be at his best because the rest of the roster carried the game. Jalen Williams, back after an injury-shortened 2025-26 season, scored a team-high 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Chet Holmgren added a 12-point, 17-rebound, four-block night, and Oklahoma City rotated him with Isaiah Hartenstein and Aday Mara, plus spot shifts from Jaylin Williams, to repeatedly contest Jokic at the rim. The approach worked: Jokic finished 5-for-19 from the field for 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and combined with Jamal Murray's 2-for-11 shooting night, Denver's two most important offensive players went a combined 7-for-30.

Aaron Gordon's 20 points led the Nuggets, and newly signed forward DeMar DeRozan added 13 off the bench in his Denver debut, but role players Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson combined for just 12 points on a night the team needed more scoring punch beyond its core. Denver's bench actually outscored Oklahoma City's reserves, 33-31, yet the Nuggets never got closer than single digits in the second half, as the Thunder overcame their own star's shooting woes to win going away. Announced attendance at Paycom Center was 18,203.

Two franchises still measuring themselves against each other

The game carried extra weight because of recent history between the two clubs. Denver won the 2023 NBA championship, and Oklahoma City has used the Nuggets as a measuring stick ever since, beating them in three of four meetings since that title, including a Game 7 win in the 2025 Western Conference semifinals that sent the Thunder on to their first NBA championship. "I remember back when we were in the throes of rebuilding, they were champions … There's no team I have a higher respect for … they're a privilege to compete against," Daigneault said of the Nuggets.

Both teams arrived at this season carrying unfinished business. Oklahoma City had the NBA's best record at 64-18 last season and swept both Phoenix and Los Angeles in the first two playoff rounds before losing a seven-game Western Conference finals to San Antonio, which went on to lose the Finals to the New York Knicks. Denver, meanwhile, was eliminated in the first round by Minnesota last spring despite leading the league in offensive rating during the regular season, a result that intensified scrutiny of coach David Adelman and the roster built around Jokic, Murray and Gordon. Denver enters this season with a retooled bench that now includes DeRozan. "So many new faces," Adelman said after Thursday's loss. "The identity will work itself out. We're two different teams from last year to this year."

What's next

Oklahoma City's win over Denver followed an opening-night victory over Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio, in which the Thunder held Wembanyama to 1-for-13 shooting — meaning Oklahoma City has now limited two of the conference's marquee big men to a combined 6-for-32 shooting through two games. The Thunder host the LA Clippers on Sunday looking to move to 3-0. The Nuggets, now 0-1, return home to face the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night, needing a sturdier start from Jokic and Murray if they hope to avoid another slow climb back into Western Conference contention.