On a night it looked like Oklahoma City would continue its early-season dominance and extend its win streak over the Nuggets to five games, Nikola Jokic had other plans.

“That’s one of the most complete games I’ve seen him play,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of his three-time Most Valuable Player after Wednesday’s 124-122 win over a previously unbeaten Thunder squad at Ball Arena.

With Jamal Murray (concussion protocol) and Aaron Gordon (right calf strain) not in uniform, Jokic started the night alongside Russell Westbrook, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr. and Peyton Watson. The Nuggets closed the game with Julian Strawther largely in Westbrook’s place after the 17-year veteran had played more than 30 minutes, meaning Jokic closed with a young trio with eight combined years of NBA experience.

Jokic finished with 23 points on 20 shots, added 20 rebounds and dished out 16 assists against five turnovers. He completed his fourth triple-double of the season before the third quarter ended.

“We got the best player on the planet on our team,” Westbrook said after scoring a team-high 29 points.

On the defensive end, Jokic added two steals, two blocks and eight deflections, per his coach. His activity on the defensive end was extra apparent when the Nuggets went to a 3-2 zone look that  Braun said the team installed at Wednesday morning’s shootaround. He was awarded the team’s chain that goes to the best defensive performer.

“He was outstanding,” Malone said.

“For anybody to say that Nikola Jokic is not a good defender, I would question their basketball intelligence, and I would question how much film they’re really watching, because you don’t have to be athletic guy blocking shots and pinning him on the glass to be a good defender. You don’t have to be a great athlete to be a good defender. Nikola Jokic has tremendous intelligence. He has the best anticipation I’ve ever seen, and he has a want and a will to win. He’s the anchor of our defense. We were top eight last year in defense, and Nikola, his contest numbers, deflection numbers, and you talk about it all the pick and rolls, all the actions that he’s put in, he’s just a thoroughbred. He’s able to go play through all of that and make plays on the other end as well, when he’s getting doubled and triple-teamed every night. It’s incredible. We know who Nikola is. I think he’s a great defensive player, and I think he’s proven that time and time and time again.”

The Nuggets needed just about every one of Jokic’s statistical contributions against a Thunder team that got 29 points from Jalen Williams, 28 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 15 from Chet Holmgren, Jokic’s matchup for the night. When Gilgeous-Alexander drove in an attempt to tie the game in the final seconds, Jokic secured his final rebound to end the streak despite being down two starters against the Western Conference’s best team to start the season.

“We always find a way, you know,” Jokic said. “

“We didn’t give up.”

Coming into Wednesday’s game, Oklahoma City had won four straight over the Nuggets, dating back to last season. The most recent was a 102-87 win at Ball Arena in the season-opener against a full-strength Nuggets team. The Thunder returned to Denver with the league’s best defensive rating (93.8), opponents points per game (95.9). The Thunder also lead the league in steals per game (13.1) and blocks per game (7.4). Jokic put a dent in those numbers and handed the Thunder their first loss of the season with a complete takeover.

“We’ve beaten them a couple of times now. You could tell they were hungry for that game and they played like it for 48 minutes,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said postgame. “So, they deserve the win.”

NUGGETS 124, THUNDER 122

What happened: The Thunder led by two to start the second quarter and stretched the lead to 66-55 at halftime. A 40-point third quarter allowed the Nuggets to tie the game to start the fourth. The Nuggets led by as many as eight in the final two minutes but needed Peyton Watson’s block in the final seconds to secure victory.

What went right: Nikola Jokic padded his triple-double averages with 23 points, 19 rebounds and 16 assists to go with two steals and two blocks. The Nuggets also made 16 of 38 (42.1%) attempts from 3-point range.

What went wrong: Turnovers helped the Thunder create a big lead in the first half. Denver committed 11 turnovers in the first half. Those led to 16 points for the Thunder. Denver had 15 turnovers through three quarters and finished with 18 turnovers for 23 Oklahoma City points.

Highlight of the night: The Thunder closed within four in the final few minutes. Christian Braun attacked in transition but missed the layup. Julian Strawther, of all people, was there to clean it up with a two-handed, putback dunk that got the lead back to six with just over two minutes to go.

Up next: The Nuggets stay in Denver for Friday’s game against the Miami Heat.