Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 10/22/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Thursday, October 22, 2026

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: KSBI

Odds/Point Spread: Denver (+8.5)

The Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18 last season) are welcoming the Denver Nuggets (54-28 last year) at Paycom Center on Thursday. Oklahoma City opens this contest as 8.5-point favorites. The betting total is set at 235.

The Nuggets stepped onto the hardwood against the Timberwolves and took a loss by a score of 110-98 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Nuggets walked away with 26 and the Timberwolves recorded 21 fouls. They also converted 7 out of their 29 attempts from long range. Minnesota shot 70.8% from the charity stripe by knocking down 17 of 24 attempts. On top of that, Minnesota collected 50 rebounds (19 offensive, 31 defensive) and added 8 rejections. Minnesota totaled 26 assists and had 8 steals in the matchup. Concerning defending, Denver allowed the other team to go 45.7% from the field on 43 out of 94 shooting. They also doled out 24 assists in this game as well as forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned 33 with 6 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Nuggets converted 20 of 25 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. Denver ended the game having earned a 45.3% FG percentage (34 out of 75) and converted 10 out of their 27 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Nikola Jokic is one guy who came through for this contest. He ended up with 28 points on 11 out of 19 shooting. He saw the court for 43 mins and also grabbed 9 boards. Jokic finished shooting 57.9% from the field and also totaled 10 assists.

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Denver will enter this contest after finishing with a mark of 54-28 last season. They lost possession by turning the ball over 12.9 times per game and as a basketball team committed 19.1 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a basketball team, Denver collected 44.0 rebounds per contest and earned 2,375 assists last season, which was 4th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. The Nuggets hit on 39.6% from downtown (1,161 of 2,934) and 80.8% from the charity stripe. They had an average of 122.1 pts per game (1st in the NBA) while shooting 49.6% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Nuggets forced 11.8 turnovers every game while drawing 21.5 personal fouls. They relinquished 34.9% on shots from distance while they were 21st in the NBA in points per game from their opponents (116.9). The Nuggets defensively gave up a FG percentage of 46.8% (3,503 of 7,481) and they surrendered 42.8 boards per game as a team. They were ranked 20th in the league in allowing assists 2,254 relinquished over the course of last season.

The last time they took the court, the Thunder walked away with a victory by a final of 116-104 against the Spurs. In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Oklahoma City permitted San Antonio to pull down 45 in total (10 on the offensive glass). They went 27.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 10 of 37 and finished the contest at 22 of 25 from the free throw line (88.0%). The Thunder permitted the Spurs to make 36 of their 93 attempts from the field which left them shooting 38.7% in this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Thunder went 43 for 95 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.3%. When talking about shooting from downtown, Oklahoma City knocked down 14 out of their 31 attempts (45.2%). They were able to make 16 of them for a percentage of 80.0%. The Spurs had 24 personal fouls in this game which got the Thunder to the charity stripe for 20 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while earning 8 steals for the game. The Thunder were able to collect 37 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 47 in the matchup.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ended up being a factor for the Thunder in the game. Gilgeous-Alexander accumulated 32 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 4 assists in this game. He knocked down 13 out of 27 in the matchup for a rate of 48.1%, and tallied 6 rebounds.

Oklahoma City had a mark of 64-18 last season. In terms of offensive execution, the Thunder connected on 48.4% from the floor, which was ranked 5th in the NBA. Oklahoma City scored 9,760 points last year (119.0 per contest) and they averaged 44.1 boards per game. They got an assist 25.8 times per contest (19th in the league) and they lost possession via turnover 12.6 times per game. The Thunder were responsible for committing 19.0 fouls per contest while shooting 81.7% from the charity stripe.

The Oklahoma City defense allowed 36.9% on 3-point shots (1,176 of 3,189) and opponents connected on 74.0% of their foul shots. They gave up 25.0 assists and 45.2 rebounds every game, which had them ranked 5th and 20th in the league. The Thunder defensively were ranked 2nd in the NBA in points given up per game with 107.9. They forced 16.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and let teams shoot 43.7% from the floor (1st in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oklahoma City (-8.5)

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