Mark Daigneault explains why SGA came out of OT in the Nuggets loss

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault watched All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominated through four quarters before pulling out of Friday’s 127-121 overtime victory against Denver Nuggets. In the rematch of the Western Conference semifinals, the physical activity between the two teams started from the jump, as Gilgeus-Aleksandar made a technical foul against Nikola Jokić in the first quarter.

However, Daigneault and Gilgeous-Alexander, returning after missing the previous nine games with an abdominal injury, set the unannounced minute limit it ran its course. Gilgeous-Alexander played just under 34 minutes (33:46) in regulation, which Dayno highlighted as the end of SGA’s night regardless of the game situation.

“It’s going to be a 24-day injury. He’s back in the game. One of the conditions to get on the court tonight is to keep him at a certain point, by minutes,” Daigneault said. “We talked about that situation with both him and (Hartenstein) before the game. Just to be clear in an unemotional moment, if we were in that situation, that’s what we would do.

“Obviously we did that. 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 injury.”

While starting center Isaiah Hartenstein, who was under the same restriction, Jaylin Williams finished the game as Jared McCain started overtime in place of the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

“Unbelievable effort by the guys that were there. The rest of the team didn’t know we had that conversation,” added Daigneault. “We just replaced the MVP and our starter early in overtime, and they attacked that game. They deserve a lot of credit for that.”

Mark Daigneault on SGA seat in OT: “He’s out with a 24-day injury. He’s back in the game. One of the conditions to get on the court tonight is to keep him to a certain point in minutes.

“We actually discussed that situation with both him and (Hartenstein).” pic.twitter.com/VjoOKvivO9

— Joshua Peacock (@Joe_Sway) February 28, 2026

Gilgeous-Alexander had 36 points, nine assists, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals, leading the Thunder to a 16-point second-half comeback. Chet Holmgren finished with a game-high 21 rebounds, 15 points and three blocks. Jared McCain scored 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, leading the way off the bench.

Lou Dort’s flagrant-2 leads to Nikola Jokic’s fight against the Thunder

Thunder veteran Lou Dort earned a flagrant-2 with 8:03 left in the fourth quarter due to a trip by Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic, which led to a physical confrontation between the MVP candidate and Thunder center Jaylin Williams.

After review, the referees deemed Lou Dort’s foul on Nikola Jokic “unnecessary and excessive,” upgrading his common foul to a flagrant two and ejecting him from the game. Williams and Jokic received double technical fouls, while Dort’s evening was brought to an end.

Jokic finished with a dominant triple-double (23 points, 17 rebounds, 14 assists) as the Nuggets fell to the Thunder in a six-point overtime loss.