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The Oklahoma City Thunder, fuelled by big games from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26) and Chet Holmgren (22), opened their NBA campaign with a dominant 102-87 victory over Nikola Jokic (29) and the Nuggets in Denver on Thursday.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who was runner-up to Jokic in Most Valuable Player award voting last season, scored 28 points and Holmgren added 25 points, a career-high 14 rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals for the Thunder, who led by as many as 20 points. Oklahoma City withstood a triple-double from Jokic, who claimed his third MVP trophy in four years last season.
The Serbian star scored 16 points with 12 rebounds and 13 assists. But the Nuggets connected on just 35.4 per cent of their shots from the field - making just 15 of 54 shots in the second half as the Thunder romped home. OKC and Denver finished with matching 57-25 records last season, the Thunder claiming top seed in the Western Conference on a tiebreaker but falling to Dallas in the Conference semi-finals.
Holmgren impressed on both ends of the floor, blocking a shot by Jokic in the third quarter and sprinting for a dunk. "I'm just trying to go out there and execute and help make winning plays," Holmgren said. "And we put enough of them together tonight to come away with a win."
