OKC Thunder: Turnovers dominate 3 takeaways in loss to the Nuggets

The OKC Thunder appeared poised for a big night after one quarter, but turnovers and spotty shooting inevitably doomed the young team.

In the first quarter of a 119-101 loss to the Denver Nuggets, the OKC Thunder were impressive.

Led by Luguentz Dort, who had nine in the opening frame, the Thunder scored a season-high 31 points in the first quarter. The Nuggets matched OKC’s production setting up what appeared to be an exciting battle between two teams, but it didn’t take long for things to go south for the Thunder.

The Thunder were outscored 34-21 in the second quarter, giving the Nuggets a 65-52 half-time lead the Thunder just couldn’t bounce back from.

Much of the Thunder’s second-quarter decline centered around a lackluster effort on the boards where the Thunder were out-rebounded 19-9.

But Denver’s advantage came on the back of a poor second-quarter shooting performance from the Thunder. While the Nuggets were heating up and sinking 50 percent of their shots from the field, OKC struggled to hit their shots, shooting an abysmal 26.1 percent from the field.

Those trends continued through the third quarter but finally evened out in the fourth quarter where the Thunder outscored the Nuggets 27-22.

Dort finished with a team-high 20 points on 72.7 percent shooting. Dort hit three of his six 3-point shots in the game. With those three makes from deep, Dort has now made 31 3-pointers through 13 games this season, eclipsing his total of 30 from all of last season. Dort also finished with five rebounds, three assists, and one steal in the game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 points in the game to go along with five rebounds and seven assists. Darius Bazley had 12 points, two rebounds, and two blocks.

Throughout the game, the one consistent issue facing the Thunder was turnovers, and that’s why the team’s turnovers lead Thunderous Intention’s 3 takeaways.

Turnovers continue to torment the OKC Thunder

When it comes to turnovers in the NBA, the OKC Thunder certainly aren’t at the top of the list for turnovers per game that ranking belongs to the Miami Heat. However, the Thunder do rank in the bottom 12 of the NBA averaging 15.1 turnovers per game.

In Tuesday’s loss to the Nuggets, the Thunder turned the ball over 19 times.

Each turnover gave the Nuggets another opportunity to score, and Denver did just that, scoring 28 points off Thunder mistakes.

The Thunder are a young team. Mistakes will happen. But ball security is essential, and it’s one of the few areas in which this team has really struggled this season.