Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was unavailable for a second straight game, and his presence was missed in the fourth of Saturday’s 118-117 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday at Ball Arena.

Justin Holiday again started in place of Caldwell-Pope, who missed a second game while in the league’s concussion protocol, against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder. Holiday started the game guarding the star guard. Gilgeous-Alexander started Saturday averaging 31 points per game, good for fourth in the NBA. He finished the game with a game-high 25 points thanks to his game-winner just before the buzzer.

“He’s never in a rush. He takes his time. He gets to his spots,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said pregame.

“It really does take five guys out there, and when you have a guy like KCP, it definitely helps because he locks in on the matchup and just takes so much pride in it. Without KCP, we’re going to have to have other guys step up and try to do the same thing we did in OKC, which would be a hell of a challenge.”

Caldwell-Pope was the primary defender on Gilgeous-Alexander the first time the Thunder and Nuggets met this season. Gilgeous-Alexander finished 2 for 16 with a season-low seven points on Oct. 29. Three of those points came on four free-throw attempts. Malone stressed the importance of keeping one of the game’s best scorers off the free throw line. He entered the game averaging eight free throws a game and finished Saturday’s game with eight.

Peyton Watson started possessions as the initial defender on Gilgeous-Alexander while Holiday rested. The pair held the All-NBA guard to seven points on nine shots in the first half. When Watson found himself on the bench with five fouls late in the third quarter, Christian Braun picked up the assignment in the fourth. It seemed like every guard and wing on Denver’s roster spent at least one possession guarding one of the game’s young talents.

Gilgeous-Alexander was 5 of 15 through three quarters but finished 9 for 20 and sunk a tough bucket over Peyton Watson to put the Thunder up one with .9 seconds left.

The hope is Caldwell-Pope clears concussion protocol in time for Monday’s game against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

“Everything is going according to plan right now,” Malone said pregame. “Fingers crossed he’s back and ready for the Dallas game.”

Turnover troubles show up late

The offense helped Denver’s defense for much of the game.

Before the game, Michael Malone stressed the importance of limiting Oklahoma City’s transition offense. In the previous five games, the Nuggets coach said the Thunder forced 20 turnovers per game, which produced 27 points on average. 

The Nuggets turned it over just two times in the first half, which led to two points, and limited the Thunder to eight fast-break points. Denver finished the game with nine turnovers, the last of which came with the Nuggets up three in the final two minutes, which turned into 15 Thunder points. As a whole, those are numbers Malone can live with, but the fourth quarter posed some problems.

“To have four (turnovers) for 10 (points) in the fourth quarter is problematic,” Malone said after the game.

THUNDER 118, NUGGETS 117

What happened: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat the buzzer and downed the Nuggets for just the second time at Ball Arena this season.

The Nuggets scored 18 points in the paint in the first quarter and started the second with a four-point advantage. The Nuggets led by as many as 11 in the second quarter but Oklahoma City closed the gap to 56-54 at halftime. Oklahoma City tied the game in the final minute of the third, but a Reggie Jackson 3-pointer and a Nikola Jokic layup gave Denver a two-point advantage to start the fourth. The Nuggets led by five when Jokic, Jamal Murray and Gilgeous-Alexander returned to the court for the final 7:43.

The Nuggets led by three with 44 seconds left, but Oklahoma City scored the final four points to drop Denver to 17-10 on the season and 10-2 at home.

What went right: Michael Porter Jr. played a complete game for Denver. He made 4 of his 8 attempts from 3-point range, added 11 rebounds for a double-double and made a few solid defensive plays. Porter has grabbed seven or more rebounds in 11 of his last 12 games. He’s also turned it over just once in the last three games. Jokic had 24 points on 15 shots, 12 assists and six rebounds. 

What went wrong: The Nuggets had a chance to take a 2-0 lead over Oklahoma City in the season series, which could be helpful at the end of the season. At 16-8, the Thunder moved up to second in the Western Conference. The Nuggets dropped to fourth in the Western Conference a third of the way through the regular season.

Highlight of the night: Jamal Murray’s ankle looked healthy in the first five minutes. He caught the ball a step behind the 3-point line of the left wing and used a slight head fake to step a step on Oklahoma City wing Lu Dort. A couple of dribbles later, Murray went up with the ball in his left hand and threw down a one-handed dunk over the Thunder’s 7-foot-1 center.

Up next: The Nuggets conclude a three-game homestand Monday against the Dallas Mavericks.