Best game of the season: Thunder vs. Nuggets
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What was the outcome of the Thunder vs. Nuggets game?
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily presented by Amazon Prime for March 10th, 2026. I'm Dave DeFore here with Zena Keita. Coming up, we go deep with Andrew Schlecht on the 129-126 win by the Oklahoma City Thunder over the Denver Nuggets. Zena, was it the game of the year? It might have been. It was the game of March for sure. For sure. For sure. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the show.
How did Shai Gilgeous-Alexander perform in this game?
Man, big game last night. Maybe the Western Conference Finals preview. Zena Kata, Andrew Schlecht, Dave DeFore. We're fired up. Andrew, Shea Gilgis-Alexander might have wrapped up the MVP last night. You were in the building for it, man. Walk me through just the end of the game. We're going to start there and then we'll reconstruct the entire thing.
Yeah, the Thunder beat the Nuggets 129 to 126, and that might seem straightforward. It was not.
What role did Shea's last-minute shots play in the game?
This was not straightforward at all. Shea hit a step back three that we thought was the dagger. It put the Thunder up by four. There's not a lot of time left on the clock. It just felt like the Nuggets were sunk. And then a play happens that J. Will told me in the locker room was one of the dumbest plays of his life after playing maybe one of the best games of his life. Jokic makes a three above the break. And as they are, as this three is going in, J. Will is kind of tussling with Jamal Murray after a pin down screen and knocks him over and they call a foul away from the ball, which means you get a free throw. And Jamal Murray, I think everybody who has any knowledge of Jamal Murray's season is like edge of their seat immediately.
Because this dude, he's had such bad luck at the free throw line in moments like this.
How did the Thunder manage to win without key players?
He sinks it and you think, wow, okay, there's eight and a half seconds left. Timeout Thunder. Thunder get the ball. They run a play to get Shea the ball and Shea takes another step back three this time to the right side, right here, right there on the court. Nice camera movement. Makes the shot and like... Just gives the deuces to the Nuggets. I mean, he basically hit two game winners in this game. One of the best games probably of his career tonight. I mean, he had a career high in assists at 15.
What adjustments did the Thunder make during the game?
He had two blocks. I mean, he had an insane night tonight. And he also, we might want to get into this a little bit later, Tidebilt Chamberlain's record for the most consecutive 20-point games at 126. And he beat basically his biggest rival. I mean, we saw it all from Shea. Like you say, he wrapped up the MVP. Like there are so many things that he did to wrap up the MVP in this one. And really, it's those two shots at the end where you're just like you're just jaws on the ground. This arena is on fire and you're just like, I can't believe that just happened.
This was the first time I had seen Shea Gildas Alexander so hyped up, so revved up, especially after he hits that first step back three before another step back three.
How did the Nuggets perform at full strength?
He goes to the bench and he's like, I don't know, talking to whomever, the competitor in the air, talking to Denver, talking to the fans, talking to whomever about this is his game. This is their game. And. It just goes to show how much this particular matchup matters to OKC and to Shea. Going into this game, we knew, yes, we can say Denver had their number as in OKC's, but I don't know if we ever really felt how OKC felt about this matchup. What did you gather after the win of just how important it felt to be able to get the win in the fashion that they got it barely towards the end of the game off of their MVP making two step back threes. What did it mean for them to win this game?
Yeah, I think there's like a lot wrapped up in that. Obviously, this is a rival.
What are the playoff implications for the Thunder and Nuggets?
This is Jokic. It's just coming off of like all the emotion from the previous game as well. where there was a lot going on in that one. And there's another Lou Dort moment in this one as well. But I would say, like, no Isaiah Hartenstein, no Chad Holmgren, no Jalen Williams in this one. No Alex Caruso in this one. I mean, these are... pillars for the Thunder that did not play in this game and I think part of it was like just beating them without those guys was really big and just like continuing to prove right that like they're the top of the West even without those guys there I think that really matters and they played a full strength game
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What was the outcome of the Thunder vs. Nuggets game?
0:09–0:40
2
How did Shai Gilgeous-Alexander perform in this game?
0:40–1:11
3
What role did Shea's last-minute shots play in the game?
1:11–2:06
4
How did the Thunder manage to win without key players?
2:06–2:47
5
What adjustments did the Thunder make during the game?
2:47–3:36
6
How did the Nuggets perform at full strength?
3:36–4:26
7
What are the playoff implications for the Thunder and Nuggets?
4:26–5:19
8
Who are the Thunder's biggest rivals in the Western Conference?
5:19–23:09