The Denver Nuggets took a rough loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and things could have been a bit different for them early in the fourth quarter. With Chet Holmgren in the game with five fouls,

The Nuggets had a chance to hand the Thunder their 12th loss of the season with 12 minutes to go, but Oklahoma City dominated the fourth quarter of a showdown between the two leading candidates for Most Valuable Player.

The Nuggets unfortunately lost a key piece of their rotation early in this game. Starting forward Aaron Gordon left the game in the first quarter with right calf tightness and is questionable to return, according to the team in a post on social media.

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

Malone, who has roamed the Nuggets’ sideline for 10 seasons, credited Popovich with helping him get hired by Cleveland (2005) and New Orleans (2010) as an assistant, en route to his first head coaching job with Sacramento. Now he’s the fourth-longest tenured coach in the league with Denver, behind only Popovich, Erik Spoelstra and Steve Kerr.

In the first round of an MVP double bill to be continued Monday, Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander both struggled from the 3-point line.

Most of Zeke Nnaji’s work this season has been done in the background, after games. He’s taking advantage of a moment in the foreground now.