In its most impressive win of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder entered Ball Arena and defeated the previous six-game-winning-streak Denver Nuggets, 119-107.
There’s a reason why this game’s line was 14.5 points in favor of the Nuggets. The shorthanded Thunder went on the high altitude road and were down to just nine players this game with seven of them playing significant G League minutes this season. Meanwhile, the Nuggets entered the contest with a six-game winning streak that included a margin of victory of over 11 points.
But despite all of that, the Thunder were able to capture its first win in Denver since April 2017. And what made this win that much more memorable is the fact that it was an overall solid effort from the nine guys that were on the floor tonight. Sure, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way and closed this game out. But the rest of the team did its part and stepped up big time. Especially from guys who are on the third unit and beyond who normally don’t see action unless the team is dealing with multiple injuries like it is right now. Who knows what the future holds for the majority of the guys who played this game, but for this one night, this win really exemplifies just how in synch the entire roster and coaching staff is that they can play shorthanded on the road and beat a Western Conference contender with the reigning MVP.
In respect to this great team performance, here are player grades for all nine guys who stepped on the floor.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: A+
As per the usual since his return from an ankle sprain, Gilgeous-Alexander was once again fantastic this game as he finished with 29 points on 10-of-23 shooting and five assists and seven rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander was a point away from extending his streak of scoring at least 30 points a game to four contests, but alas, I doubt he cares that much since the team came out with the win.
Gilgeous-Alexander was able to sub in and close this game out as he scored nine of his 29 points in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault mentioned after the game that he thought Gilgeous-Alexander was great all game long and did a fantastic job at closing this game out.
After an inefficient start to his season, Gilgeous-Alexander has really ramped up his shooting percentages in since the All-Star break as he has shot over 60 percent from the field and averaged over 30 points in three games entering this game. Gilgeous-Alexander attacked the basket all game and took most of his shots close to the rim or from outside.
Isaiah Roby: A+
This was easily the best game of Isaiah Roby’s young NBA career so far as he scored a career-high 26 points and shot 4-of-5 from three while also racking up five assists, seven rebounds and a pair of steals and blocks. This was definitely Roby’s night as he outscored the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic 26 to 22.
With the Thunder missing a collective 71.6 points this game, Roby was the one who stepped up and scored more points than usual and that resulted in a career night for the 24-year-old.
But the short roster for the Thunder this game did not deter Roby as he noted after the game that he didn’t even notice that there were only nine guys available until he noticed how much space the bench had during the game.
Tre Mann: B+
Tre Mann contributed to this win with a 13-point performance to go along with six rebounds. Mann was able to hit some timely buckets late in the game that were crucial in attributing to this upset win. Mann continues to play well and take advantage of the starts that he is getting due to backcourt injuries recently with Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey.
Aleksej Pokusevski: A
This was a phenomenal game for Aleksej Pokusevski as he earned his third start of the season. Pokusevski finished with nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks and steals. Pokusevski started off the game loud and helped set the tone early on.
Daigneault mentioned that Pokusevski earned this start after playing great since February and it’s hard to argue against that as the 20-year-old has averaged 11 points on 48.8 percent shooting in nine games entering Wednesday.
Darius Bazley: B-
Darius Bazley was an unsung hero this game as he finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and steals. Bazley did a good job at making Aaron Gordon essentially a non-factor this game as he finished with nine points on 12 shots. This went a long way to securing this win as the Nuggets starting lineup — sans Jokic — struggled mightily against the Thunder.
Vit Krejci: B
Vit Krejci played well in his 21 minutes as he finished with nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from deep that included some timely treys late in the third quarter. Krejci has built up some momentum recently and has played like a legit NBA player.
With the season winding down, hopefully Krejci can continue to play like this — more or less — to wrap up his first official NBA season on a positive note as he undergoes the knife to fix his meniscus in the offseason.
Theo Maledon: B
Theo Maledon continues to redeem his sophomore season with another solid performance off the bench as he finished with nine points, four assists and three rebounds. It appears Maledon’s stints with the G League has helped him regain his confidence after struggling loudly to begin the season.
If Maledon can continue to maximize the minutes he gets for the rest of the season, then it’s only fair to say the 20-year-old has taken a positive step in his development after struggling with some major adversity to start the season.
Two-way player: B+
The two two-way players in Lindy Waters III and Olivier Sarr did a great job at stepping up this game and providing 33 quality NBA minutes.
Waters III scored six points and hit some important threes down the stretch of the game while Sarr contributed with six points and three rebounds and held his own against Jokic.
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