DENVER – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points, Chet Holmgren added 25 as part of an outstanding overall performance and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 102-87 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.

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

It was an important division game from the start. The Thunder and Nuggets each finished 57-25 last season, with the Thunder clinching first place 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, who had just signed a new contract extension, added 12 points. Denver was 7 of 39 on 3-point shots.

Takeaways

Donner: Holmgren can command the field with authority. In the third quarter, he blocked a shot from Jokic, ran down the court, accepted a pass and threw down a powerful dunk.

Nuggets: The Thunder's bench outscored the Nuggets' reserves 25-16. Freshman Russell Westbrook scored six points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Key moment

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

Key statistics

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 play in Chicago on Saturday evening, while the Nuggets host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday evening.

——

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