Jonas Valančiūnas recorded 23 points and 17 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 127–107 on April 10, 2026. In the teams’ most recent completed official meeting, Julian Strawther added 22 points, while Branden Carlson led Oklahoma City with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
The game took place at Ball Arena in Denver during the 2025–26 NBA regular season. Its defining context matters as much as its score: both teams used significantly different lineups from those readers might expect in a Nuggets–Thunder matchup.
Key player stats — April 10, 2026: Nuggets 127, Thunder 107
| Team | Player | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Field goals | Three-pointers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nuggets | Jonas Valančiūnas | 23 | 17 | 4 | 9–14 | 1–2 |
| Nuggets | Julian Strawther | 22 | 4 | 3 | 8–17 | 4–7 |
| Nuggets | David Roddy | 21 | 2 | 0 | 8–12 | 3–6 |
| Nuggets | Jalen Pickett | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5–11 | 3–6 |
| Nuggets | Tim Hardaway Jr. | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4–12 | 3–9 |
| Thunder | Branden Carlson | 23 | 12 | 5 | 8–18 | 3–10 |
| Thunder | Jared McCain | 15 | 1 | 2 | 6–11 | 3–8 |
| Thunder | Kenrich Williams | 15 | 12 | 1 | 7–22 | 1–6 |
| Thunder | Nikola Topić | 14 | 2 | 11 | 6–12 | 2–3 |
| Thunder | Brooks Barnhizer | 14 | 9 | 2 | 5–10 | 1–3 |
All figures in the table are from this game alone.
How Denver won
For three quarters, Oklahoma City kept the result within reach. Denver led 34–27 after the first quarter and 59–51 at halftime. The Thunder then won the third quarter 34–31, cutting the Nuggets’ advantage to 90–85 entering the fourth.
Denver settled the game in the final period, outscoring Oklahoma City 37–22. David Roddy supplied 16 of those 37 points. The Nuggets shot 13-for-22 from the field in the quarter, while the Thunder went 9-for-22.
The timing of that surge explains the final margin. Oklahoma City had drawn within two points late in the third quarter, but Denver opened the fourth with two Roddy baskets. A Curtis Jones three-pointer pushed the lead to 97–85, and Roddy followed with a three of his own to make it 100–85. With 6:08 left, Strawther turned a steal into a dunk that extended the advantage to 111–90.
Denver had led for most of the night, yet the score was still close enough after three quarters for the Thunder to threaten. The Nuggets’ fourth-quarter shooting and Roddy’s scoring turned a five-point game into a comfortable win.
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Valančiūnas gave Denver an inside advantage
Valančiūnas finished with 23 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 32 minutes. He made nine of 14 field-goal attempts and all four of his free throws. Six of his rebounds came at the offensive end.
Those offensive boards gave Denver extra possessions in a game where Oklahoma City took six more field-goal attempts overall. Valančiūnas also collected seven rebounds in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets pulled away. His production helped Denver sustain its lead without needing every possession to end in a three-point attempt.
The center was effective beyond scoring and rebounding. His four assists included a pass to Roddy for a cutting layup during the fourth-quarter run. That contribution is easy to miss when looking only at the points column, but it shows how Denver could use him as a link between its perimeter players and its attack near the basket.
Valančiūnas’ 23 points and 17 rebounds were both season highs at the time of the game. They were especially valuable on a night when Nikola Jokić did not play. The result should not be treated as a direct measure of how a usual starting-lineup matchup between these clubs would unfold, but Valančiūnas decisively filled the role Denver needed on April 10.
Strawther’s shooting stretched the defense
Strawther provided Denver’s clearest perimeter scoring threat. He scored 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, and added three assists, two steals and a block.
His threes mattered because Oklahoma City had to account for him away from the rim while Valančiūnas worked inside. Strawther scored 10 points in the second quarter, helping Denver retain its lead through a period in which neither team broke the game open. He also made a three in the fourth and produced the steal and dunk that took Denver’s lead to 21.
The box score shows a balanced contribution rather than an isolated shooting display. Strawther played 33 minutes and supplied scoring in multiple stretches, including one when the Thunder had narrowed the gap. Denver’s eventual 20-point victory makes the game look settled throughout; Strawther’s second-quarter offense and fourth-quarter plays help explain why it became settled.
Roddy’s performance had a different shape. He had just five points through three quarters, then scored 16 in the fourth to finish with 21 on 8-for-12 shooting. Denver did not need him to carry its early offense. It needed someone to convert the opportunity to put Oklahoma City away, and he did exactly that.
Why the shooting numbers mattered
Denver shot 47-for-93 overall (50.5%) and 21-for-43 from three (48.8%). Oklahoma City shot 42-for-99 (42.4%) and 14-for-44 from three (31.8%).
The seven-made-three gap was substantial. Denver scored 63 points from beyond the arc to Oklahoma City’s 42, a 21-point difference in a game decided by 20. That arithmetic does not mean every three had the same effect on the contest, but it captures the central scoring advantage: the Nuggets made one fewer three-point attempt than the Thunder while connecting seven more times.
Denver also got useful shooting across its lineup. Jalen Pickett made three threes and scored 13 points. Tyus Jones went 3-for-3 from deep for nine points. Tim Hardaway Jr. added three threes and 13 points. Oklahoma City had individual bright spots, including Carlson’s three makes and Jared McCain’s 3-for-8 shooting, but could not match Denver’s combined efficiency.
The team totals also guard against an oversimplified explanation based on possessions. Oklahoma City had 15 offensive rebounds to Denver’s 10 and attempted 99 field goals to Denver’s 93. It scored 46 points in the paint to Denver’s 40. The Thunder created chances; they converted a smaller share of their shots, particularly from three-point range.
Turnovers tell a similarly nuanced story. Denver committed 17, compared with Oklahoma City’s 13. Neither the possession count nor the turnover count alone explains the Nuggets’ win. Their superior shot-making, followed by their decisive fourth quarter, outweighed those disadvantages.
Oklahoma City’s contributors — and its late difficulty
Carlson was the Thunder’s leading scorer and most productive all-around frontcourt player: 23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and a block. He played more than 37 minutes and made eight of 18 shots. His 3-for-10 mark from deep reflects both his willingness to take perimeter attempts and the difficulty Oklahoma City had converting enough of them.
Topić supplied a game-high 11 assists alongside 14 points. He was particularly effective as a facilitator in the third quarter, when the Thunder worked their way back into contention. Through three quarters, he had 14 points and eight assists on 6-for-7 shooting.
His fourth quarter was much tougher: Topić went 0-for-5 from the field and committed four turnovers in the period. That shift coincided with Denver’s separation on the scoreboard. It would be too simple to place the loss on one player—the Thunder scored only 22 points as a team in the fourth—but his split illustrates how sharply their offense changed after its promising third quarter.
Kenrich Williams added 15 points and 12 rebounds, seven of them offensive. His persistence on the glass created opportunities, although he made seven of 22 field-goal attempts. McCain scored 15 on 6-for-11 shooting, and Aaron Wiggins contributed 13 points and three steals. Those performances kept Oklahoma City competitive for much of the night without producing enough late scoring to answer Denver’s run.
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What the lineups mean for this result
The April 10 box score does not contain a Jokić-versus-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring duel. Neither player appeared. Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren were also among the prominent players absent from the game; the official scorer’s report records the players who appeared and those listed as inactive.
That distinction is essential when interpreting the Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder match player stats. The numbers describe a real regular-season result with real stakes, but they come from the specific lineups used that night. Substituting star-player figures from an earlier meeting would misrepresent the game.
What the result meant
The players who did appear made the contest worth examining on its own terms. Valančiūnas delivered the strongest rebounding performance, Strawther supplied steady outside scoring, and Roddy dominated the final quarter. Carlson posted a double-double for Oklahoma City, while Topić showed how a productive first three quarters can be followed by a difficult finish.
Denver improved to 53–28 with the victory and extended its winning streak to 11 games. At the time, the win secured the Nuggets at least a top-four seed in the Western Conference, an important result with the regular season nearing its end.
Oklahoma City fell to 64–17. Its record and the unusual lineup provide necessary context for the loss: this game offered a look at how different combinations performed, rather than a full-strength comparison of the teams’ leading players.
As of September 28, 2026, April 10 remains the most recent completed official Nuggets–Thunder meeting verified for this article. The result establishes who won that meeting and why; it does not, by itself, predict the outcome of a future matchup featuring different lineups.
FAQs
Who won the latest Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder game?
The Denver Nuggets won 127–107 at Ball Arena on April 10, 2026, in a 2025–26 regular-season game.
Who scored the most points in the game?
Jonas Valančiūnas and Branden Carlson tied for the game lead with 23 points each. Valančiūnas played for Denver; Carlson played for Oklahoma City.
What were Jonas Valančiūnas’ stats against the Thunder?
He recorded 23 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, shooting 9-for-14 from the field.
Did Nikola Jokić or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander play?
No. Neither appeared in the April 10 game. Player figures attributed to them from another Nuggets–Thunder meeting do not belong in this game’s box score.
What decided the game?
Denver entered the fourth quarter ahead by five, then outscored Oklahoma City 37–22. Roddy scored 16 points in that final period, and the Nuggets finished with a seven-make advantage from three-point range.
Conclusion
The clearest takeaway from April 10 is Denver’s combination of Valančiūnas’ inside production, Strawther’s perimeter scoring and Roddy’s fourth-quarter burst. Oklahoma City stayed close through three quarters, but the Nuggets’ efficient shooting turned the final period into a decisive one. Follow future sports coverage for the next verified meeting and a fresh breakdown of the players who actually take the court.
