Preview: Thunder at Nuggets DENVER (Interstat) — The NBA’s top team visits the defending champions Sunday when the Oklahoma City Thunder face the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. The Thunder (38-11) enter with the league’s best record but are looking to rebound from a 123-111 road loss to Minnesota on Thursday. Denver (32-16), sitting third in the Western Conference, has won two straight, including a 107-103 victory over Brooklyn that same night. The matchup features two of the league’s premier guards in stellar form. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists over his last 10 games, including a 47-point outburst against Indiana on Jan. 23. Denver’s Jamal Murray has been equally prolific, averaging 27.8 points and 8.5 assists in that same span, highlighted by a 42-point game against Washington and a 17-assist performance against Boston. Oklahoma City’s high-powered offense, which averages a league-leading 121.4 points per game, will test a Nuggets defense that allows 110.2 points per contest at home. The Thunder, however, have shown recent vulnerability, going 6-4 over their last 10 games. Denver is 7-3 in its last 10. The teams have not met this season. Sunday’s game is the first of a two-game regular-season series, with the rematch scheduled in Oklahoma City on Feb. 27. For the Thunder, center Chet Holmgren, who had 15 points and five rebounds in the loss to Minnesota, will be a key factor against Denver’s interior defense. The Nuggets will rely on the consistency of forward Tim Hardaway Jr., who is coming off a 25-point, eight-rebound performance, and center Jonas Valanciunas. The game tips off at 7 p.m. MST Sunday. Oklahoma City begins a two-game homestand Tuesday against Orlando. Denver opens a three-game road trip Tuesday in Detroit.