• Denver Nuggets (37-22, 4th in the West) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (45-15, 1st in the West)
• When: Friday, 27 February 2026 at 8:30pm CST
• Where: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK
• TV: ESPN / FDSN-OK
• Offensive Rating: DEN: 120.7 (1st) / OKC: 117.6 (6th)
• Defensive Rating: DEN: 115.8 (20th) / OKC: 106.4 (1st)
• Net Rating: DEN: 4.9 (7th) / OKC: 11.2 (1st)
• Current Streaks: DEN: Alternating W’s and L’s for the last 8 games / OKC: Lost their last game, 5-2 in their last 7 games

The Tip-Off

Next man up. As the Thunder start to get healthier and healthier, the experience garnered from different players being thrust into roles that aren’t familiar to them could serve to be a positive as the Thunder navigate through the last 20 games of the season. The shot-making from Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain, the play-making and scoring from Cason Wallace, the offensive-hubbing from Jaylin Williams, the scoring from Kenrich Williams, etc. All those skills, while mostly not needed when the team is healthy, can serve as difference makers when defenses game-plan entirely against a team’s offense. We saw last season that the shooting can dry up quickly in the playoffs. If the players on the floor present more dynamic games, it allows the team to score in a variety of ways instead of relying entirely on their bread and butter (SGA and Dub).

This is the second of four meeting this season between these Northwest Division rivals. OKC won the first meeting, 121-111, in a game that saw the Thunder lead wire to wire and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander solidify his stamp on the MVP race with a 34 point, 13 assist performance.

Betting Info, presented by FanDuel

• Line: OKC -8.5
• O/U: 232.5

Injury Report

OKC

• Branden Carlson – OUT (back)
• Ajay Mitchell – OUT (abdominal strain)
• Thomas Sorber – OFS (knee/ACL)
• Jalen Williams – OUT (hamstring)

DEN

• Tamar Bates – OUT (foot)
• Aaron Gordon – OUT (hamstring)
• Spencer Jones – Questionable (shoulder)
• Jamal Murray – Questionable (illness)
• Jalen Pickett – OUT (knee)
• Julian Strawther – Questionable (toe)
• Peyton Watson – OUT (hamstring)

Three Big Things

1. The Thunder offense – While Denver may have the best offense in the league, it’s the Thunder’s offense that may show out in this game. Denver’s struggles on the defensive end have been well-documented this season. Nikola Jokic, while great on the offensive end of the floor, has never been mistaken for being a defensive stalwart on the other end. The Thunder’s ability to put Jokic into action with SGA gives the advantage to OKC. Denver will try to deploy a zone, but don’t currently have the horses (yes, pun intended) to run an effective one, with Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson being out. In addition, Denver doesn’t add too much defensive pressure on the ball, seeing as they are 29th in steals per game, 27th in blocks per game, and last in points off turnovers.
2. Return of SGA – After carrying the Thunder on his back for most of the season, SGA (and the Thunder) were able to steal 3 weeks worth of rest for the reigning MVP. That could be huge for OKC as they head into their final playoff push. The Thunder went 5-4 in the 9 games Gilgeous-Alexander missed. Abdominal strains have a way of being tricky (see also hamstring strains), so here’s hoping he’s fully healed.
3. Perimeter Defense – Outside of Jokic, the reason Denver’s offense is so great is their jump-shooting ability. The Nuggets rank 2nd in FG%, 1st in 3pt FG%, 6th in FT%, 1st in Effective FG%, and 1st in True Shooting %. With the gravity that Jokic, and Jamal Murray to a lesser degree, have, it opens up jump shooting opportunities for many of their role players. One of the more effective ways to defend against this is to limit the times you double-team Jokic. And the Thunder have the bodies to defend Joker one on one.