Sports
Nuggets looking to match Thunder's defensive intensity
Feb 25, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the second half against the Boston Celtics at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images The NBA’s top offensive team meets the league’s top defensive team when the Denver Nuggets visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
The Nuggets come into the game with an NBA-best 120.7 offensive rating, with the Thunder posting a 106.4 defensive rating — points allowed per 100 possessions — to lead the league.
Denver coach David Adelman has been trying to get more from his team defensively for much of the season, and progress was on display in Wednesday’s 103-84 win over Boston that was the Nuggets’ best defensive performance of the season.
“For us to do anything uniquely special this season, the defense has to come along,” Adelman said. “… The challenges will keep coming with OKC next. So it’s just got to be a more consistent thing.”
It will be Denver’s first trip to Oklahoma City since the Thunder eliminated the Nuggets with a 125-93 win in Game 7 of their second-round series last May.
Neither team is close to full strength, though.
Denver’s Jamal Murray left Wednesday’s game due to illness, while the Nuggets also remain without Peyton Watson and Aaron Gordon, who are both recovering from hamstring injuries.
Oklahoma City had just nine players available during the second half of Wednesday’s 124-116 loss in Detroit and one of those players played less than a minute.
The Thunder were already without starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein in that game, plus key reserves Ajay Mitchell and Alex Caruso.
Isaiah Joe and Branden Carlson left with injuries in the first half of Wednesday’s loss.
Though the Thunder are likely to have more players available Friday, Jaylin Williams figures to continue to play a significant role.
Williams had a career-high 30 points in the loss to the Pistons, helping keep Oklahoma City in the game until the final minute despite the injuries.
“We just have a group of resilient guys,” Williams said. “We’ve been in a lot of different situations and I think regardless of what situation we’re in, we’re going to go at it the same way. We’re going to go out there, leave it all out on the court, we’re going to play defense, we’re going to play hard, we’re going to do those type of things.
“And I think the fact that we’re a team where we do the same things regardless of who’s in. That’s what gives us a chance in every game.”
Friday’s game will be the second of four meetings between the teams this season.
The Thunder won the first, 121-111, in Denver on Feb. 1.
Though it certainly won’t be front-and-center in the game, it will be the first matchup between fellow Serbians Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets and Nikola Topic of the Thunder.
After sitting out last season due to an ACL tear and the first 55 games of this season after an offseason testicular cancer diagnosis, Topic has played the last five games for Oklahoma City, averaging 3.2 points and 2.0 assists in more than 10 minutes per game.
Jokic is looking forward to finally sharing an NBA court with Topic after the two have been teammates with the Serbian national team.
“He’s a really good guy,” Jokic said. “Really talented. He’s the future of Serbian basketball. It’s good. … He’s fighting for something that is probably more important — most important — and he won it.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Transfer portal roundup: Kentucky adds Furman transfer Alex Wilkins
Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Furman Paladins guard Alex Wilkins (10) dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies in the second half during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Former Furman guard Alex Wilkins has transferred to Kentucky.
His move was one of the biggest on a busy transfer portal weekend.
Wilkins excelled in his freshman season with the Paladins, averaging 17.8 points, 4.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 35 games (all starts).
Listed at 6-foot-5, Wilkins showed his skills to a national audience in Furman’s lone game of the NCAA Tournament. He made four 3-pointers and scored 21 points in the Paladins’ 82-71 loss to eventual national championship runner-up UConn in the first round.
–Ex-Belmont forward Drew Scharnowski announced his transfer to Duke.
In his recently completed sophomore season at Belmont, the 6-9 Scharnowski averaged 10.7 points. 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists over 21.9 minutes per game. He shot 68.1% in 30 games (24 starts).
He takes the roster spot of forward Nikolas Khamenia, who transferred to UConn on Saturday.
–Florida State gained the commitment of 6-11 forward Sebastian Rancik, who heads to Tallahassee after two seasons at Colorado.
A native of Slovakia, he attended high school in Southern California, where he was ranked as a four-star prospect in the 2024 class.
In 29 games (26 starts) with the Buffaloes as a sophomore, he averaged 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros place OF Joey Loperfido (quad) on injured list
Apr 11, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Joey Loperfido (10) is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring a run during the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images The Houston Astros placed outfielder Joey Loperfido on the injured list with a right quad strain on Sunday and recalled right-hander Jayden Murray from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Loperfido, 26, was batting .259 with six RBIs in 20 games this season. He started at least one game in all three outfield positions.
Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024 and then re-acquired via trade in February, Loperfido is a career .249 major league hitter with eight home runs and 45 RBIs in 142 games over three seasons.
Murray, 29, had one appearance earlier this season and has a 2.63 ERA in 10 games over the past two seasons for the Astros. His addition increases Houston’s staff to 13 pitchers.
Also on Sunday, the Astros traded minor league right-hander Wilmy Sanchez to the New York Yankees for infielder Braden Shewmake, a former first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2019.
In 31 major league games for the Braves and Chicago White Sox, Shewmake, 28, is batting .118 with a home run and four RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bryson DeChambeau (wrist) WDs from LIV Golf Mexico City
Apr 10, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Bryson DeChambeau reacts after his ball rolled down the slope on the 18th green during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images Bryson DeChambeau cited a wrist injury on Sunday for the reason he withdrew prior to the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City on Sunday in Naucalpan, Mexico.
“I experienced some discomfort in my wrist during (Saturday’s round) and have decided to withdraw from the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City to prevent further injury,” DeChambeau wrote on X. “Not how I wanted this week to go, but wishing the Crushers a strong finish. I’m going to take a few days to get evaluated and hope to be ready for LIV Golf Virginia.”
DeChambeau entered the final round at 2-over-par 215 at Club De Golf Chapultepec, 16 strokes behind leader Jon Rahm of Spain. DeChambeau hasn’t been too shy about complaining about the course conditions of the event, doing so on Friday for the second straight year.
DeChambeau, 32, prevailed in a playoff in consecutive weeks in March by winning at both LIV Golf Singapore and LIV Golf South Africa. The two-time U.S. Open champion has won five LIV Golf titles.
–Field Level Media
Transfer portal roundup: Kentucky adds Furman transfer Alex Wilkins
Astros place OF Joey Loperfido (quad) on injured list
