OKLAHOMA CITY -- — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points in his return after missing nine games with an abdominal strain and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 127-121 in overtime Friday night in a testy matchup that featured multiple technical fouls and an ejection.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, didn't play in overtime, but the Thunder still pulled through in the extra period.

Denver's Nikola Jokic, who got into an altercation with Oklahoma City's Lu Dort in the fourth quarter, had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists. Dort was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, listed as questionable with an illness before the game, led the Nuggets with 39 points.

Gilgeous-Alexander started and drew loud applause when his name was announced in pregame introductions. His first basket came on a driving layup two minutes into the game.

The teams are very familiar with each other — the Thunder defeated the Nuggets 4-3 in the Western Conference semifinals last year. The Thunder won the first two meetings this season and they play twice more.

This matchup was physical from the start. Gilgeous-Alexander was called for an early technical because he threw the ball at Jokic, who made contact with him after play stopped. Denver's bench was called for a technical in the third quarter. There was plenty of talking and shoving throughout.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 18 points in the first half, but Denver led 59-50 after making 11 of 20 3-pointers before the break.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 14 points in the third quarter to help the Thunder chip away, but the Nuggets took an 83-77 lead into the fourth.

The Thunder started off hot in the fourth quarter, and Dort's 3-pointer finally put Oklahoma City up 86-85.

A few minutes later, Dort was ejected for a hard foul against Jokic that led to a scrum near midcourt and offsetting technicals on Jokic and Oklahoma City's Jaylin Williams.

Fittingly, the tightly contested game went to overtime tied at 107.

Up next

Nuggets: Host Minnesota on Sunday.

Thunder: At Dallas on Sunday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Nikola Jokic vs. Chet Holmgren (Cameron Johnson gains possession)	0	0
11:42	Nikola Jokic misses 18-foot jumper	0	0
11:38	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	0	0
11:19	Luguentz Dort misses 26-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:15	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	0	0
11:08	Nikola Jokic makes 10-foot two point shot (Christian Braun assists)	0	2
11:08	Isaiah Hartenstein shooting foul	0	2
11:08	Nikola Jokic makes free throw 1 of 1	0	3
10:52	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 11-foot step back jumpshot	0	3
10:47	Isaiah Hartenstein offensive rebound	0	3
10:42	Isaiah Hartenstein makes 1-foot dunk (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assists)	2	3
10:24	Cason Wallace shooting foul	2	3
10:24	Nikola Jokic makes free throw 1 of 2	2	4
10:24	Nikola Jokic misses free throw 2 of 2	2	4
10:22	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	2	4
10:15	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes driving layup	4	4
10:00	Isaiah Hartenstein blocks Nikola Jokic 's 6-foot turnaround jump shot	4	4
9:57	Cameron Johnson offensive rebound	4	4
9:53	Christian Braun makes 25-foot three pointer	4	7
9:39	Chet Holmgren misses 6-foot floating jump shot	4	7
9:35	Isaiah Hartenstein offensive rebound	4	7
9:35	Isaiah Hartenstein makes tip in dunk	6	7
9:16	Nikola Jokic misses 11-foot turnaround jump shot	6	7
9:15	Isaiah Hartenstein defensive rebound	6	7
9:11	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander technical foul	6	7
9:11	(09:11) [Nuggets] REF-INITIATED REVIEW (CALL STANDS)	6	7
9:11	Jamal Murray misses technical free throw	6	7
9:11	Thunder defensive team rebound	6	7
9:11	Nikola Jokic personal foul	6	7
9:04	Cason Wallace makes 2-foot two point shot (Isaiah Hartenstein assists)	8	7
8:43	Nikola Jokic misses 18-foot jumper	8	7
8:40	Luguentz Dort defensive rebound	8	7
8:34	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 15-foot pullup jump shot	8	7
8:32	Jamal Murray defensive rebound	8	7
8:26	Isaiah Hartenstein blocks Jamal Murray 's 1-foot running layup	8	7
8:24	Cason Wallace defensive rebound	8	7
8:22	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 27-foot running jump shot	8	7
8:22	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	8	7
8:09	Cameron Johnson misses 22-foot three point jumper	8	7
8:07	Isaiah Hartenstein defensive rebound	8	7
7:57	Chet Holmgren makes 26-foot three point jumper (Isaiah Hartenstein assists)	11	7
7:35	Cameron Johnson makes 22-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	11	10
7:21	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander misses 14-foot pullup jump shot	11	10
7:19	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	11	10
7:18	Christian Braun makes running dunk (Nikola Jokic assists)	11	12
7:18	Cason Wallace shooting foul	11	12
7:18	Christian Braun misses free throw 1 of 1	11	12
7:16	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	11	12
7:01	Cameron Johnson shooting foul	11	12
7:01	Chet Holmgren misses free throw 1 of 2	11	12
7:01	Thunder offensive team rebound	11	12
7:01	Aaron Wiggins enters the game for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	11	12
7:01	Chet Holmgren misses free throw 2 of 2	11	12
6:59	Christian Braun defensive rebound	11	12
6:45	Nikola Jokic misses 26-foot three point jumper	11	12
6:42	Luguentz Dort defensive rebound	11	12
6:20	Aaron Wiggins makes 4-foot driving floating jump shot (Isaiah Hartenstein assists)	13	12
6:15	Christian Braun lost ball turnover (Cason Wallace steals)	13	12
6:11	Cason Wallace misses running pullup jump shot	13	12
6:07	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	13	12
6:02	Julian Strawther lost ball turnover (Aaron Wiggins steals)	13	12
5:57	Aaron Wiggins misses two point shot	13	12
5:55	Cameron Johnson defensive rebound	13	12
5:54	Aaron Wiggins personal foul	13	12
5:54	Thunder Full timeout	13	12
5:54	Alex Caruso enters the game for Isaiah Hartenstein	13	12
5:54	Tim Hardaway Jr. enters the game for Julian Strawther	13	12
5:39	Jamal Murray makes 26-foot three pointer	13	15
5:22	Chet Holmgren bad pass turnover (Christian Braun steals)	13	15
5:16	Nikola Jokic misses 26-foot running jump shot	13	15
5:12	Luguentz Dort defensive rebound	13	15
5:10	Cason Wallace double dribble turnover	13	15
5:02	Jamal Murray misses 19-foot fade away jump shot	13	15
5:00	Chet Holmgren defensive rebound	13	15
4:48	Aaron Wiggins bad pass turnover (Jamal Murray steals)	13	15
4:48	Luguentz Dort personal foul	13	15
4:48	Jamal Murray makes free throw 1 of 2	13	16
4:48	Isaiah Joe enters the game for Luguentz Dort	13	16
4:48	Bruce Brown enters the game for Cameron Johnson	13	16
4:48	Jamal Murray makes free throw 2 of 2	13	17
4:36	Aaron Wiggins misses 25-foot three point jumper	13	17
4:33	Bruce Brown defensive rebound	13	17
4:24	Christian Braun misses 25-foot three point jumper	13	17
4:20	Isaiah Joe defensive rebound	13	17
4:08	Cason Wallace misses 15-foot step back jumpshot	13	17
4:03	Jamal Murray defensive rebound	13	17
3:59	Tim Hardaway Jr. makes 24-foot running jump shot (Jamal Murray assists)	13	20
3:51	Nikola Jokic personal foul	13	20
3:51	Jaylin Williams enters the game for Chet Holmgren	13	20
3:40	Cason Wallace misses two point shot	13	20
3:39	Bruce Brown defensive rebound	13	20
3:33	Jaylin Williams shooting foul	13	20
3:33	Christian Braun makes free throw 1 of 2	13	21
3:33	Christian Braun makes free throw 2 of 2	13	22
3:24	Isaiah Joe misses 13-foot jumper	13	22
3:21	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	13	22
3:13	Bruce Brown steps out of bounds turnover	13	22
3:02	Alex Caruso misses 24-foot three point jumper	13	22
2:58	Christian Braun defensive rebound	13	22
2:43	Nikola Jokic makes 12-foot two point shot	13	24
2:33	Isaiah Joe misses 22-foot three point jumper	13	24
2:31	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	13	24
2:16	Christian Braun makes 22-foot three point jumper	13	27
2:15	Thunder Full timeout	13	27
2:15	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander enters the game for Cason Wallace	13	27
2:15	Cameron Johnson enters the game for Jamal Murray	13	27
2:01	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes two point shot	15	27
1:46	Bruce Brown offensive foul	15	27
1:46	Bruce Brown offensive foul turnover	15	27
1:41	Nikola Jokic kicked ball violation	15	27
1:26	Aaron Wiggins misses finger roll layup	15	27
1:24	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	15	27
1:24	Nikola Jokic lost ball turnover (Aaron Wiggins steals)	15	27
1:20	Aaron Wiggins misses layup	15	27
1:18	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	15	27
1:13	Tim Hardaway Jr. makes 23-foot running jump shot (Cameron Johnson assists)	15	30
1:03	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes 11-foot pullup jump shot	17	30
51.4	Spencer Jones enters the game for Christian Braun	17	30
43.9	Tim Hardaway Jr. makes 23-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	17	33
33.7	Spencer Jones shooting foul	17	33
33.7	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 1 of 2	18	33
33.7	Luguentz Dort enters the game for Isaiah Joe	18	33
33.7	Jamal Murray enters the game for Spencer Jones	18	33
33.7	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes free throw 2 of 2	19	33
17.7	Jamal Murray misses driving floating jump shot	19	33
16.1	Jamal Murray offensive rebound	19	33
15.4	Jaylin Williams blocks Jamal Murray's tip shot	19	33
12.5	Aaron Wiggins defensive rebound	19	33
1.6	Aaron Wiggins misses 23-foot three point jumper	19	33
1.6	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	19	33
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	19	33

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Paycom Center

Oklahoma City, OK

Date & Time

2:47 AM, February 28, 2026

Coverage

ESPN, Altitude Sports, FanDuel SN OK

Attendance

18,203

Referees

James Williams, Jacyn Goble, J.T. Orr

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	49	15	.766	W4
Minnesota	40	23	.635	W5
Denver	39	25	.609	L1
Portland	30	34	.469	L1
Utah	19	44	.302	W1

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Gilgeous-Alexander scores 36 in return, tempers flare as Thunder top Nuggets 127-121 in OT

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