Nikola Jokic pours in 28 points to lead the Nuggets past the Thunder 128-95

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-95 on Sunday in Oklahoma City, led by Nikola Jokic's 28 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists.

Michael Porter Jr. had 20 points, Jamal Murray had 19, and Peyton Watson had a career-high 17 points off the bench.

The victory was the defending champions' third in a row to begin the season, and Denver's fourth in a row in Oklahoma City.

Denver shot 60.2 percent from the field, including 11 of 27 (40.7 percent) from distance.

The Nuggets outrebounded the Thunder 52-41. In addition, Denver had 34 assists on 53 field goals.

Denver dominated the boards from the start, outrebounding the Thunder 19-9 in the first quarter as they built a 12-point lead and scored eight second-chance points.

Denver took the lead for good just over two minutes in.

Oklahoma City closed to within six points in the second quarter before the Nuggets closed the half on a 22-10 run to lead 69-51 at the half.

While Denver kept the offense moving, the Thunder struggled in their home opener.

Oklahoma City couldn't keep up with the Nuggets on defense, and the problems spread to the offense as well.

Oklahoma City shot 6 of 32 (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with seven points on 2 of 16 shooting, his lowest scoring total since December 2019.

Rookie Chet Holmgren led the Thunder with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He had no blocks after breaking the franchise rookie record with seven in Friday's win over Cleveland. Jalen Williams added 13 points and Tre Mann had 12 off the bench for the Thunder.

SportsLigue