DENVER (AP) 鈥� Shai Gilgeous-Alexander banked in a decisive 8-foot jumper with 9.2 seconds remaining and finished with 34 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped Denver鈥檚 league-leading nine-game win streak and beat the Nuggets 101-99 Sunday night.
After Denver鈥檚 Zeke Nnaji hit two free throws to tie the game at 99 with 30 seconds left, Gilgeous-Alexander got the ball out of a timeout and hit the mid-range jumper to give the Thunder the lead. The Nuggets鈥� Jamal Murray missed a fadeaway 14-foot shot in the final seconds.
鈥淗e鈥檚 got some poise in those situations,鈥� Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said of Gilgeous-Alexander. 鈥淭he game slows down for him. He鈥檚 got great confidence and he鈥檚 always at his pace, even in the most pressure situations.鈥�
Oklahoma City鈥檚 victory ended the Nuggets鈥� 16-game home win streak 鈥� the franchise鈥檚 longest run in 10 years.
Josh Giddey had 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds for the Thunder, who earned their seventh win in nine games.
Denver center Nikola Jokic missed his second straight game while dealing with tightness in his left hamstring. The two-time reigning NBA MVP had recorded a triple-double in five of his last six games. Nuggets acting head coach David Adelman said expects that Jokic鈥檚 return is 鈥済oing to be very soon.鈥�
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 much easier to switch one through five with us,鈥� Adelman said. 鈥淲hen Nikola is on the floor, it鈥檚 virtually impossible to do that and it鈥檚 virtually impossible to zone us. They did those two things and they鈥檙e smart things to do.鈥�
Forward Michael Porter Jr. also missed the game for 鈥減ersonal reasons,鈥� leaving Denver without two of its top four scorers. Porter鈥檚 younger brother, Coban, a sophomore guard at the University of Denver, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of vehicular homicide and reckless driving after he was involved in a fatal crash.
Without Jokic and Porter, Murray shouldered much of the offensive load, finishing with a team-high 26 points and nine assists, two nights recording his first career triple-double.
鈥淭hey doubled me,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淲e kind of expected that. We knew from what we went through in walk-throughs what they鈥檇 most likely do. We prepared for it. We got what we wanted. We didn鈥檛 finish like you鈥檙e accustomed to seeing us finish. That鈥檚 just on us. That hurts, knowing we did everything we could and we didn鈥檛 get over the hump.鈥�
Denver made 51.5% of its free throws, losing out on precious points in a narrow loss. Oklahoma City, meanwhile, shot 87.5% from the line, with Gilgeous-Alexander going 7 for 8.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who entered averaging 30.6 points, shot 13 for 21 from the field.
鈥淚t feels good,鈥� Gilgeous-Alexander said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e put a lot of work in, a lot of guys have been on the team for a little bit, and we try to enjoy wins as much as possible and not take them for granted. When we see guys make a play at the end of the game, the close ones are the most fun ones, the emotions are a little bit higher and it feels a little bit better.鈥�
TIP-INS
Nuggets: G Bones Hyland was scoreless in 11 minutes after missing the second half of Denver鈥檚 134-11 victory Friday against the Indiana Pacers with a sprained left finger. 鈥� F Vlatko Cancar was scoreless in 10 minutes after missing Friday鈥檚 game with a non-COVID illness.
Thunder: Oklahoma City had lost its previous three matchups against the Nuggets this season. 鈥� F Kenrich Williams had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
UP NEXT
Thunder: Host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
Nuggets: At New Orleans on Tuesday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Craig Meyer, The Associated Press
