In a fourth quarter with five lead changes, Denver took the lead for good with just over five minutes to go and held off the Oklahoma City Thunder down the stretch to beat OKC 124-to-122, handing them their first loss of the season.
The Thunder had a chance to tie it late, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his shot in the lane blocked by Peyton Watson as time expired.
Both teams made 16 three-pointers, and Michael Porter, Jr.'s three with 5:09 left put Denver up for good at 109-to-108.
Porter had 24 points and was one of four Nuggets to score at least 20 points.
One of them was former Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, who had 29 points to lead the Nuggets and made three 3-pointers.
The Thunder led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, but Denver went on a 16-3 run to get even and the game was close the rest of the way.
OKC had six players in double figures, including all five starters.
Jalen Williams led the way with 29 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points.
Williams hit four 3-pointers and added 10 rebounds and Chet Holmgren had a double-double as well with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Aaron Wiggins had 13 points off the bench, while both Isaiah Joe and Luguentz Dort had 11 points each and both had three 3-pointers.
The Thunder fall to 7-1 on the season and open a six-game homestand on Friday night when they host Houston at 7:00 pm.
