OKC Thunder to Battle Potentially Weakened Denver Nuggets Lineup in Primetime Game

The Oklahoma City Thunder is set to take on the Denver Nuggets for the third time this season at noon on Sunday.

This gives Oklahoma City the chance to to take a 2-1 lead over Denver and vice versa for the Nuggets, as the Thunder were able to handle them convincingly in the first meeting before the Nuggets handed Oklahoma City a two-point loss the next time around.

In Oklahoma City's most recent contest against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, the Thunder won comfortably behind an Aaron Wiggins-led team, as all of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace, among others, sat on the bench for the bout against one of the bottom four teams in the Western Conference.

Kenrich Williams, Ousmane Dieng, Jaylin Williams, Isaiah Joe and Wiggins all cracked the starting lineup on Friday, leaving them to mount an 18-point win behind 30 points from Wiggins before preparing for Sunday's contest against the Nuggets.

Oklahoma City will have all of its necessary pieces back in place versus the Nuggets though, as Gilgeous-Alexander returns from rest, Williams from a banged up right wrist and Wallace from a right knee contusion.

This is immense, as the Thunder will look to make some true noise in a national spotlight against the third-seeded Nuggets on ABC/ESPN.

For Denver, Nikola Jokic is coming off the NBA's first-ever 30-point, 20-rebound, 20-assist performance, marking a remarkable feat while in the midst of a heated NBA MVP battle, with his primary opponent being Gilgeous-Alexander. As it stands, Jokic sits as probable to play in the game on Sunday.

He'll likely suit up it seems, though no assurance, Aaron Gordon also sits as a game-time decision for the Nuggets. These two pieces will be paramount to perform to the heights to beat the Thunder a second time this season, and certainly to make a statement against the team leading the West by an impressive 11 games.

Sunday will be a battle to catch, as the Nuggets hope to have its superstar, MVP player in play to combat Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC Thunder.