The significance of the Thunder‘s victory in Denver on Saturday night can’t be ignored, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who points out that it’s extremely rare for any team to steal a win at Ball Arena. The Nuggets lost just seven times in Denver during the 2022/23 regular season and had won 10 of 11 home games so far this season before Saturday’s defeat.
“It showed that we can play with anybody when we are playing well,” Thunder forward Jalen Williams said of the thrilling 118-117 win. “Obviously, we have a ton of respect for Denver. In regards to that, they did a lot to win this game as well. But we feel that we can compete with anybody, and I think this solidifies those thoughts that we have.
“Honestly, I don’t think that we’ve ever not thought that way. But this just gives us more and more confidence as we head into the rest of the season. We know that we have a lot of work ahead of us and a long way to go. But we know that we can play with anyone when we are on our game.”
With the victory, the Thunder moved ahead of the Nuggets in the standings and once again hold the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. As Jones writes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also continued to strengthen his Most Valuable Player case on Saturday, outplaying two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and hitting the game-winning shot in the final second of the fourth quarter.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Jokic had high praise for Thunder big man Chet Holmgren, who had an incredible nine blocked shots on Saturday. As Bennett Durando of The Denver Post relays, the Nuggets’ star center thinks Holmgren is capable of being much more than just a Rookie of the Year winner. “I think that’s not supposed to be his goal,” Jokic said. “I think he can be much better than that.”
- Zeke Nnaji has been a DNP-CD in six of the Nuggets‘ past eight games, as head coach Michael Malone has leaned on DeAndre Jordan as the team’s primary backup center. However, Malone is unwilling to classify Nnaji as “out of the rotation,” referring to him as “an effective player for us,” tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. Nnaji signed a four-year, $32MM rookie scale extension prior to the season; it will begin in ’24/25.
- Trail Blazers rookie Scoot Henderson has been showing his explosiveness more often as of late, which the team views as another sign that he’s getting more comfortable after a slow start to his NBA career, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I think Scoot is getting better every day, to be honest with you,” Billups said of the No. 3 overall pick, who has averaged 18.3 points on .468/.500/1.000 shooting in his past three games. “You can actually see the progress in the games. In the early part of the season he really struggled, and I thought most of his struggles came from him just wanting so badly to play well. So, he could never slow down.”
- Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant returned to action on Saturday after spending four games in the concussion protocol and didn’t miss a beat, scoring 27 points on 12-of-20 shooting in 38 minutes of action. Grant is one of several players around the NBA who won’t become trade-eligible until January 15.
Correction: Nnaji signed a 4/32M rookie extension.
Thanks, I fixed it.
Nnaji was only signed to help in a trade.
OKC can be good for a long time. They just need another big body that can help with rebounds but not needing the ball.
Gordon Hayward to OKC
Micic, Davis Bertans, Poku & Utah’s top10 protected 2024 1st to Charlotte…
Thunder get a big time vet scorer with plenty of playoff exp in Hayward. They also get off Bertans contract & still control 3 1sts in this upcoming draft… Hornets get an extra draft asset as well as a guy who should help solve their backup pg issues in Micic.
OKC has no interest in Gordon Hayward …. If you want to put Mark Williams on the table ….. You could get Giddey moved to Charlotte, where he belongs, with his new Bro’s like Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller. OKC will give some picks too.
Why wouldn’t OKC have interest in Hayward?
OKC could use a playoff vet. I like it.
They are not doing that… Giddey and Ball can’t play together. It is not the same as SGA who is more a scorer. Giddey is also not going to get in trouble because the encounter was in an 18 and up club. Not his job to check IDs.
Way too much for a past his prime 34 year old
Yay no…
they play Bertans he isn’t just on bench collecting a check. Hayward is likely getting injured at some point. They would send 2nd rps not a first he isn’t worth that. The Utah pick also has more in it than top 10 protected, they can convey to Indy and get their pick back in 2024. If they don’t do that they won’t trade that pick until 2025 if Jazz continue to tank OKC gets nothing from the pick. I don’t think NBA is letting Jazz tank to 2026.
Mam, the Thunder have absolutely nailed the draft recently, and they’re a scary young core that is growing together right before our eyes.
Their core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, and Luguentz Dort aren’t the flashiest of names, but these guys all do their jobs collectively together towards a common goal. Kudos to their front office, their scouting department, and their group of coaches developing these guys.
I love seeing a team brought together like this and succeeding.