Slow start sinks Oklahoma City against Nuggets

Denver got out to a 22-6 lead in Saturday night’s 110-102 win over the Thunder. Nicola Jokic notched his fourth triple-double of the year.

Oklahoma City got off to a slow start on Saturday night in Denver and could never fully recover, as they fell 110-102 to the Nuggets.

Nicola Jokic notched his 36th career triple-double, scoring a game-high 28 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and dishing out 12 assists. It was his fourth triple-double of the season.

Denver started the game on a 22-6 run before Oklahoma City turned the tide. OKC outscored the Nuggets 14-5 over the final 5:46 of the first quarter to get the game back within seven.

A three-point Denver lead at the half swelled to as many as 13 in the third quarter, where once against Oklahoma City was outscored, this time 30-19.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sank a jumper with 6:50 left in the game to cut the deficit to five, but Denver ran off nine straight points to put the game out of reach.

Dennis Schröder came off the bench to lead the team with 22 points. Steven Adams had 18 points while Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16. Chris Paul also tallied a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.

Oklahoma City was once again with Terrance Ferguson, who missed his fifth straight game with right hip soreness.

With the loss, the Thunder end their road trip 2-2 and fall to 4-9 on the road and 11-14 overall.

Oklahoma City is back in action when they host Chicago on Monday inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.