OKLAHOMA CITY — The Denver Nuggets led comfortably for most of the final three quarters of their preseason finale against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Head coach Mark Daigneault said improvement is a necessity for the champions before watching Ousmane Dieng and the Thunder, who hadn't led since the beginning of a second quarter, grab its first second-half lead with 1:42 left in the final frame.
The young Thunder squad erased a 16-point deficit before the Nuggets tied the game with 13 seconds left. Dieng scored 13 of his 17 points in the final frame, including the game-winning three as the game clock expired in a 94-91 Thunder preseason victory.
“It was a fast break. The game was tied. We had to shoot it,” Dieng said. “With the great defense, I wanted to shoot the first one. So, I had to step through and shoot it like that. But, it felt good.”
In a second quarter where the Nuggets outscored their opponent by 14 points, the Thunder responded in the second half, making crucial plays down the stretch on both ends of the floor before a whopping 16-0 fourth-quarter run changed Oklahoma City's fate.
“We just were persistent, which is what you have to do in a 48-minute game,” Daigneault said. “It was a good lesson tonight. It went from 16 to six or four very quickly. You don't have to hit home runs in a 48-minute game. You just have to play the next possession well, and let the power of compounding happen.”
Ousmane Dieng finished 6-of-12 from the floor, including a pair of threes, four rebounds, one steal, and one block in 20 minutes. Dieng, who played in 37 games last season while spending most of the season in the G League for the Thunder, is entering his fourth year.
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 12 points, four rebounds, and one steal in the first half, and Chet Holmgren added nine points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block in his preseason debut before Daigneault sat all of his starters after halftime.
Mark Daigneault says improvement is ‘necessary' for Thunder
Before the Thunder raise its championship banner on Opening Night on Tuesday, head coach Mark Daigneault knows 2025-26 can't mirror last season. The Thunder's championship run is in the past and if the defending champion plan to repeat, growth is critical, Daigneault said.
“It can come across as arrogant if presented the wrong way. We win the championship, and if you come out of that, it's like, we can still get better,” Daigneault said. “That's got a tone in it that doesn't feel great, and that's certainly not where we are. Improvement is necessary in our situation because everyone else is getting better. Both rosters, their coaching staffs, scheming, and getting better, their players themselves are getting better.”
The Thunder will host the Rockets on Opening Night at the Paycom Center on Tuesday.
