Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a decisive 8-foot jumper with 9.2 seconds left and scored 34 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped Denver’s league-leading nine-game winning streak and closed Sunday night. Defeated the Nuggets 101-99.
The Nuggets’ Zeke Nagy made two free throws to tie the game at 99 with 30 seconds left when Gilgeous-Alexander got the ball after a timeout and hit a mid-range jumper to give the Thunder the lead. The Nuggets’ Jamal Murray missed a 14-foot field goal in the final seconds.
Oklahoma City’s victory ended the Nuggets’ 16-game home winning streak — the franchise’s longest winning streak in 10 years.
Josh Guidi had 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Thunder, which have won seven of nine games.
Denver center Nikola Jokic missed his second straight game with a tight left hamstring. The two-time reigning NBA MVP has a triple-double in five of his last six games.
Forward Michael Porter Jr. also missed the game for “personal reasons,” leaving Denver without two of its top four scorers. Porter’s younger brother, Coban, a sophomore student security guard at the University of Denver, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of crashing and reckless driving after he was involved in a fatal crash.
In the absence of Jokic and Porter, Murray carried most of the offensive load, scoring a team-high 26 points and nine assists and recording his first career triple-double in two nights.
Denver shot 51.5 percent from the line and narrowly lost valuable points. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City is shooting 87.5 percent from the free-throw line, with Gilgeous-Alexander going 7-for-8 from the line.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged 30.6 points per game, made 13 of 21 shots.
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Nuggets: G Bones Hyland was scoreless in 11 minutes after missing the second half of Denver’s 134-11 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday with a sprained left finger. … F Vlatko Cancar was scoreless in 10 minutes after missing Friday’s game with a non-COVID illness.
Thunder: Oklahoma City has lost its first three games against the Nuggets this season. … F Kenrich Williams had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
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Thunder: Host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
Nuggets: At New Orleans on Tuesday.
