Nuggets 127\u2013121 in overtime<\/a> to begin their current winning streak.<\/p>\nThat matchup featured plenty of drama. Gilgeous-Alexander was called for an early technical foul, Denver\u2019s bench received a technical in the third quarter, and Luguentz Dort was ejected late in the game after a hard foul on Jokic that sparked a brief on-court scuffle.<\/p>\n
The teams have developed a heated rivalry after meeting in a seven-game Western Conference semifinal series last postseason, and Monday\u2019s matchup could provide another playoff-style atmosphere.<\/p>\n
ESPN NBA reporter Anthony Slater believes Oklahoma City\u2019s late-game execution continues to separate the Thunder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re playing hard,\u201d Slater said. \u201cBut it was actually a pretty gritty win by the Thunder to pull it out late. Just Shai is the closer. That\u2019s the difference between the two teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Playoff positioning taking shape<\/p>\n
While Oklahoma City currently sits near the top of the Western Conference standings, Slater said securing the No. 1 seed isn\u2019t necessarily the most important goal heading toward the postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I\u2019ve seen teams win it from the third seed,\u201d Slater said. \u201cYou want home court, but it\u2019s not necessarily the path you need.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Thunder have also been cautious managing injuries late in the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to pace yourself, especially as defending champs when you play all the way till June and then come right back in October,\u201d Slater said.<\/p>\n
Jalen Williams continues to work back from a hamstring strain, while Oklahoma City has dealt with multiple rotation injuries in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
\n Injury report<\/p>\n
Thunder<\/p>\n
Alex Caruso \u2014 Out (left hip contusion)Isaiah Hartenstein \u2014 Out (left calf contusion)Jalen Williams \u2014 Out (right hamstring strain)Chet Holmgren \u2014 Questionable (flu)<\/p>\n
Nuggets<\/p>\n
Jamal Murray \u2014 Questionable (left ankle sprain)Peyton Watson \u2014 Out (right hamstring strain)<\/p>\n
Denver has battled injuries as well. Murray rolled his ankle in a recent loss to the Knicks, while the Nuggets have struggled to keep their roster fully healthy throughout the season.<\/p>\n
\n Big week ahead for OKC<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s matchup begins a challenging stretch for the Thunder. Oklahoma City will host the Boston Celtics on Thursday before finishing the homestand Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a rematch of last season\u2019s Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n
\n How\/Where to watch Thunder vs. Nuggets<\/p>\n
Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. CTLocation: Paycom Center TV: Peacock \/ FanDuel Sports Network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Thunder return to Paycom Center Monday night for one of the biggest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-529625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}