OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault watched All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominate through four quarters before sitting him in overtime of Friday's 127-121 win against the Denver Nuggets. In a 2025 Western Conference semifinal rematch, the physicality between the two teams commenced from the jump, as Gilgeous-Alexander earned a technical foul against Nikola Jokic in the first quarter.
However, Daigneault and Gilgeous-Alexander, making his return after missing the past nine games due to an abdominal injury, set an unannounced minutes restriction that ran its course. Gilgeous-Alexander played just under 34 minutes (33:46) in regulation, which Daigneault pointed to as the end of SGA's night regardless of the in-game situation.
“He’s coming off a 24-day injury. There’s a return to play. One of the conditions of getting him on the court tonight is holding him at a certain point, minutes-wise,” Daigneault said. “We actually discussed that situation with both him and [Hartenstein] before the game. Just so we're all clear in a non-emotional moment, that if we were in that situation, that's what we would do.
“We obviously did it. I understand it's a little unorthodox, but, at the end of the day, we're trying to prioritize the health of our players as they come back from an injury.”
While starting center Isaiah Hartenstein, coming off a calf strain, was under the same restriction, Jaylin Williams finished the game, as Jared McCain started the extra period in place of Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“Unbelievable effort by the guys that were out there. The rest of the team didn't know we had that conversation,” Daigneault added. “We just subbed the MVP and our starter at the beginning of overtime, and they attacked that game. They deserve a lot of credit for that.”
Mark Daigneault on sitting SGA in OT: “He’s coming off a 24-day injury. There’s a return to play. One of the conditions of getting him on the court tonight is holding him to a certain point minutes-wise.
“We actually discussed that situation with both him and [Hartenstein]” pic.twitter.com/WjoOQwiwO9
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) February 28, 2026
Gilgeous-Alexander's 36 points, nine assists, three rebounds, two blocks, and two steals led a 16-point comeback by the Thunder in the second half. Chet Holmgren finished with a career-high 21 rebounds, 15 points, and three blocks. Jared McCain's 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including a pair of threes, led the bench.
Lu Dort's flagrant-2 leads to Nikola Jokic scuffle vs. Thunder
Thunder veteran Lu Dort earned a flagrant-2 with 8:03 left in the fourth quarter for tripping Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic, which led to a physical altercation between the MVP candidate and Thunder center Jaylin Williams.
After review, the officials deemed Lu Dort's foul against Nikola Jokic “unnecessary and excessive,” upgrading his common foul to a flagrant foul penalty two and ejecting him from the game. Williams and Jokic received double technical fouls, while Dort's night came to an end.
Jokic finished with a dominating triple-double (23 points, 17 rebounds, 14 assists), as the Nuggets fell to the Thunder in a six-point loss in overtime.
