Thunder Bench Sparks Near Comeback in Close Loss to Nuggets

Oklahoma City dropped its fourth straight game Sunday after falling to Denver 99-95 in a highly contested matchup.

The Thunder changed its starting lineup to counter the strong starting five of the Nuggets, however the bench still found a way to shine through and keep OKC in the game despite a down game from Shai- Gilgeous Alexander.

Here are the top performers from the game.

Josh Giddey

Josh Giddey stepped up as Gilgeous-Alexander struggled to find a rhythm. Giddey had 11 points on the night, shooting 4-of-10 and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Giddey’s 3-point success was the most efficient on the team Sunday. He paired the strong 3-point night with a team-high in assists and rebounds with eight and seven respectively.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored less than 10 points for the first time this season, as the rookie stepped up to keep the Thunder within striking distance down the stretch.

Kenrich Williams

Kenrich Williams has been huge for OKC off of the bench this season, which continued on Sunday as he played 18 minutes and was efficient in that time.

Williams shot 4-of-6 from the field and scored eight points for the Thunder on Sunday night. Williams also paired those eight points with six rebounds and three assists.

Williams minutes off of the bench continue to prove vital as the season pushes forward.

The Centers

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Derrick Favors drew a difficult task Sunday night in defending reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. The two combined to help ease the effect Jokic had throughout the game.

Jokic still scored 22 points, but shot just 8-21 from the field. The 22 points is the lowest point total for Jokic since December 22 when Jokic scored just 13 points against OKC. Jokic however did dominate the glass, pulling down 18 rebounds.

Robinson-Earl also helped the Thunder’s offensive efforts scoring 12 points on ten shot attempts.

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