In the Thunder's 140-127 loss to Denver on Monday — which split the teams' two-game series in Oklahoma City after the Thunder's 127-103 victory on Sunday — Daigneault deployed a new plan to slow down Jokic's habit of quickly inbounding the ball to jumpstart the Nuggets offense.

After playing two consecutive games against Oklahoma City, three-time MVP Nikola Jokic had high praise for the Thunder.

Telling reporters afterward that he's "playing the best basketball of my life," Denver star Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 18 rebounds and 8 assists, as his Nuggets defeated the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder 140-127 on Monday night.