Top Performers: Thunder Trio Combines for 72 points in Loss to the Nuggets

Despite a 122-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to put together an incredible start to the season that leaves him in the superstar conversation.

Who were the top performers in this contest?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

The face of the franchise scored 37 points on 13-for-17 shooting and 11-for-11 on free-throws. He’s the fourth-best scorer in the NBA so far on the season for a reason, and continues to show us why each game. He’s seemed to find some consistency, and is showing us that what we saw after the All-Star break last season was real.

This season, Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 30 or more points in five out of seven games played, and missed the mark by just two points in one of those games.

Josh Giddey

After missing a few games to injury, Josh Giddey played just 25 minutes against the Orlando Magic, and didn’t play in the closing minutes. This time around, Giddey was able to play 32 minutes, and most of them were alongside Gilgeous-Alexander, after they staggered their minutes against the Magic.

For Giddey, his bread-and-butter for the matchup was taking advantage of smaller point guards, which could easily become a theme for the 6-foot-8 point guard. He also showed some solid signs of potential on the defensive end against Michael Porter Jr.

Not to mention, Giddey knocked down two of his four 3-point attempts, which continues to be a promising sign for the season as he continues to work with coach Chip Engelland. He finished this game with 16 points and five assists on 7-for-14 shooting.

Lu Dort

With a rough start to the season, Dort has begun playing within the system much more since then and has taken a much better shot selection. He was the second leading scorer last night with 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting. He continued to expose mismatches and drive to the basket where he finished consistently.

It’s going to be interesting to watch Dort continue to find ways to score while he struggles from beyond-the-arc.

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