Aaron Gordon #50 of the Denver Nuggets reacts during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Ball Arena on October 26, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. Jamie Schwaberow / Getty Images / AFP
Aaron Gordon scored a season-high 27 to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 122-110 win over the home team Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
Nikola Jokic had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists for his 79th career double, breaking ties with Wilt Chamberlain for sixth place in NBA history.
The loss followed a four-game winning streak for the Thunder.
Denver shot 58.1% from behind the 3-point line (18 out of 31), its best shot rate from outside the arc since January 2021.
The Nuggets took a 19-point lead but Oklahoma City bounced back in the third half, taking the lead with less than two minutes in goal.
The Thunder did that by slamming the ball in, scoring 24 of 38 points in the third quarter, and turning the pressure on the defence. Oklahoma City scored 11 points from Denver’s nine opening games in the quarter.
Oklahoma City outperformed the Nuggets 72-46 in paint colors for the game.
Aaron Gordon takes a 76.9% shot from the field while in the lead @miner score with 27 PTS! #MileHighBasketball@ Double0AG: 27 PTS (10-13 FGM), 5 REB pic.twitter.com/KX808bOGQh
– NBA (@NBA) November 4, 2022
But Jamal Murray helped the Nuggets stay in the game, scoring the first nine points in Denver’s fourth round before the rest of the offense came to life.
The Nuggets turned 16-4 in four minutes in the middle of the fourth round to take control, including three straight shots assisted by Bruce Brown.
Murray scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth inning.
Jokic had just two points from two shots in the first half, but he put the Nuggets in control of the game early with eight assists before the break.
Gordon scored 23 points before the break, going 8/10 from the pitch.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 37 points in 13/17 shots. Gilgeous-Alexander is the perfect man with 11 free-throw opportunities and is 51 out of 52 this season.
Luguentz Dort added 19 points and Josh Giddey 16 for Oklahoma City.
The Nuggets overcame the Thunder from the start, scoring the first 13 points and leading 21-4 after five minutes of the game.
Oklahoma City started just 2 10 points from the pitch before settling down. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 out of 29 in the Thunder’s first quarter.
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