Gilgeous-alexander Scores 40 As Thunder Top Nuggets 127-103 In Matchup Of West Leaders

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 127-103 on Sunday in a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference.

Gilgeous-Alexander had eight assists and made all eight of his free throws for the West-leading Thunder, who won their seventh straight game and improved to 53-11. Jalen Williams added 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Denver's Nikola Jokic, who along with Gilgeous-Alexander is a top contender in the NBA MVP race, had 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. He was coming off the league's first 30-20-20 triple-double in his team's 149-141 overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Denver went up 10-0 early as it took the Thunder nearly three minutes to score, but Oklahoma City cut its deficit to 29-28 by the end of the quarter.