OKC Thunder seek to close preseason in B2B sweep of Nuggets

The OKC Thunder finally broke through with a victory in preseason defeating the Denver Nuggets. It was the first win in three tries for OKC.

These same clubs are right back at it this evening in the first back-to-back game OKC has played this year. It is the fourth and final game of the Thunder preseason where they hope to finish with a .500 record.

While preseason matches don’t count toward the final win total it’s always good for the OKC Thunder youngsters to experience success. To that end, the victory was made all the more sweet considering the Nuggets played their regular season starting lineup for the first time (at least until Jamal Murray returns from injury).

OKC Thunder close preseason in back-to-back match vs Denver Nuggets

It was the first preseason game Nuggets guard Will Barton has played after suffering an ankle injury. P.J. Dozier and Austin Rivers had taken turns in the starting rotation but came off the bench Wednesday.

All five Nuggets starters logged at least 24 minutes with Nikola Jokic leading the way with 30 minutes. The reigning MVP  delivered a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds along with five assists, three steals, and a block.

In spite of the talented Nuggets core and deep roster, they dropped their fourth consecutive preseason match. This loss was the largest margin of victory for the Nuggets who had lost each prior game by a single bucket or five cumulative points.

Mark Daigneault also used what is likely to be his starting rotation with Derrick Favors finally able to play after missing the prior matches due to a sore knee. Favors joined Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, and Darius Bazley.

Darius Bazley broke out with his best game of the preseason. Although SGA and POKU continued to struggle to find their shot they both had big highlights in the match. Gilgeous-Alexander drew oohs and ahhs on a few sweet drives to the basket and Pokusevski delivered two key blocks.

Lu Dort maintained his 3-point shooting barrage while the just turned 19 (October 10th) rookie Josh Giddey continues to look much older than a teenager.

Rylan Stiles serves up the three key takeaways from the victory.

Walking wounded:

As for injuries, the three Thunder players who were out Wednesday are likely to miss this match again tonight. That trio includes Kenrich Williams who is healing from a toe injury, Vit Krejci dealing with visa issues and sadly Mamadi Diakite is out with what the team updated as a hip fracture.

The timing is brutal as the injury will all but guarantee he gets waived. It’s still possible the Thunder will try to add him to their G-League affiliate OKC Blue. Sending prayers and hopes for a quick recovery to Diakite.

The Nuggets are without Murray (rehabbing from torn ACL) and JaMychal Green who sat Wednesday with an ankle sprain.

Starting rotations likely to feature reserves

Since this is the final match for both teams it’s very likely the stars on both sides will sit this one out although (as of posting) there is no definitive word on the matter.

Daigneault stated earlier in the week he felt the team getting to play the back-to-back and three games in five days would be extremely beneficial for the rookies so it’s likely to be a reserve heavy lineup featured in this match.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets have sat Jokic and Porter Jr. each in one game but since this is their fifth preseason match it’s just as likely Malone rests all his core.

Alternatively, if the coaches do elect to play their starters it would likely be in very limited minutes.

Game Specifics:

Venue: The BOK Center in Tulsa Oklahoma

Tip-off: the game starts at 7:00 p.m. Central Time (8:00 p.m. EST)

Where to watch the game: OKC Thunder main website live stream or app as well as NBA League Pass

Radio: WWLS 98.1 FM