DENVER — — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points, Chet Holmgren added 25 as part of a stellar all-around performance and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 102-87 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.

Holmgren proved to be a handful on both ends of the floor. He matched a career high with 14 rebounds, had five assists and blocked four shots. Reserve Aaron Wiggins added 15 points.

It was immediately an important division match. The Thunder and Nuggets both finished 57-25 last season, with the Thunder earning the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference thanks to a tiebreaker.

Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for Denver.

Jokic’s point guard partner, Jamal Murray, had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Christian Braun added 16 points. while Aaron Gordon, fresh from signing a new contract extension, added 12 points. Denver was 7 of 39 on three-pointers.

Takeaways

Thunder: Holmgren can command the floor with authority. In the third quarter, he blocked a Jokic shot, ran onto the court, took a pass and threw down a powerful dunk.

Nuggets: The Thunder’s bench outscored the Nuggets’ reserves 25-16. New signing Russell Westbrook had six points on 2-for-10 shooting.

Key moment

Before the game, Denver players and coaches paid tribute to the late Dikembe Mutombo by wearing T-shirts with an image of the great man’s iconic finger wag. In the first quarter, the team showed a video tribute honoring Mutombo’s great achievements on and off the field. Then the fans stood and applauded for 55 seconds – his song. Mutombo died last month of brain cancer. He was 58.

Key stat

With an average age of 24 years and 148 days, the Thunder opened the regular season with the youngest roster in the league.

Next

The Thunder are in Chicago on Saturday night, while the Nuggets host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

——

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