The NBA is back. After months without any NBA action to speak of, the preseason continued tonight as the Denver Nuggets used a splendid performance from big man Timofey Mozgov to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a typical preseason performance for both teams with stars Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Ty Lawson, and recently re-signed Kenneth Faried all lodging less than 24 minutes. 

It was the Thunder quick out of the gate, racing out to a 34-26 lead after the first quarter on the back of a surprisingly dominant performance from sophomore big man Steven Adams. Adams had 14 points on 7-8 shooting to go with 6 rebounds after the first 12 minutes, numbers that are sure to impressive Thunder fans. Adams saw little action after playing the first 12 minutes, finishing with 15 points and 7 rebounds. This performance will go a long way to solidify his starting spot for the upcoming season. However, he fouled out in just 21 minutes and shot just 1-5 from the costless throw line, two things he must address to cement a starting spot on a championship contending team. 

The Nuggets did manage to turn it around in the second quarter, tying the score at 54-54 come halftime. After scoring 34 first quarter points, the Nuggets tightened up their defense, something they have not consistently been able to do, and limited the Thunder to just 20 points in the second quarter. Timofey Mozgov was the driving force on both offense and defense, stuffing the stat sheet to the tune of 20 points on 8-of-8 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. The Russian big man's play fueled the all-around play of the Nuggets and helped them turn around a lackluster first quarter.

The game was still anyone's for the taking at halftime with the scores locked at 54-54 and neither team was able to sustain a lead throughout the third quarter. With 2:21 to go in the quarter, the Nuggets had taken an 84-72 lead but the Thunder went on a 13-2 run to end the quarter, culminated by a Sebastian Telfair three pointer with just 0.02 seconds remain to make it just an 86-85 Nugget lead.

Beginning the fourth quarter, it looked to be the Thunder who would run away with the game, taking a 96-93 lead with 7:22 remaining on the back of a pair of Sebastian Telfair costless throws. From there, it was all Nuggets as the hustle of rookie Jusuf Nurkic helped them to a game-changing 15-0 run, finding themselves up 108-96 with 3:47 to go. This proved too much for the Thunder as the game fizzled out to a 114-101 Nuggets victory.

Although not much can be taken from a preseaon game, the Nuggets must be impressed with the hustle and overall play of rookie Jusuf Nurkic who finished with 15 rebounds. For the Thunder, both Steven Adams and Mitch McGary impressed, with McGary finishing with 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting. However, Jeremy Lamb finished on 1-for-14 shooting, once again disappointing for the Thunder who will expect much more out of the third year guard after the departure of Thabo Sefalosha. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday and the Denver Nuggets travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns, also on Saturday.

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