The Denver Nuggets will start the second week of the NBA season as the association’s only 3-0 team after dismantling the Thunder, 128-95, on Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City.

Here are three takeaways from the Nuggets’ most lopsided win of the early season.

1. Sunday matinees can be tough, but the Nuggets showed their maturity against the Thunder. With another game Monday, it was important for the Nuggets to take advantage of any opportunity to get their starters some extra rest. Denver did just that. After creating a double-digit advantage in the first quarter, the visitors added to the lead in each of the three following quarters and led by as many as 35 in the final minutes. It started with the starting five and continued with the second unit. That meant none of Denver’s starters surpassed 30 minutes. That’s something that could come in handy Monday against a Jazz squad that had a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday.

2. Welcome to the NBA, Chet Holmgren. The Thunder rookie, who missed all last season with a foot injury, nearly had a triple-double in his second NBA game with 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks against the Cavaliers on Friday. But Sunday was his first shot at going up against Nikola Jokic. Jokic’s physicality presented problems, as he made 12 of the 16 shots he attempted and finished with a game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds. Holmgren had some bright spots offensively, scoring 19 points of his own, but he grabbed just four rebounds and failed to block a shot. Holmgren’s going to be just fine, but he’s got a way to go physically before he’s one of the guys who can make life hard on Jokic.

3. Denver’s starters get a lot of credit – rightfully so – but the bench continues to be better than expected this early in the season. Denver’s reserves scored 45 more points against the Thunder, and no one shined brighter than Peyton Watson. The second-year wing scored a career-high 17 points on just 11 shots. He cut for dunks and layups when playing alongside Jokic and knocked down a 3-pointer for a third consecutive game. Christian Braun added a complete performance with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Reggie Jackson and Zeke Nnaji didn’t have as big of days in Oklahoma City, but they’ve helped the second unit surprise through three games this season.

NUGGETS 128, THUNDER 95

What happened: Another strong defensive start saw the Nuggets lead by 11 after Reggie Jackson’s 3-pointer late in the first quarter. The Nuggets led 69-51 at halftime after Jamal Murray found Nikola Jokic for a layup in the final seconds of the first half. Denver extended the lead to 22 after three quarters and the starters got most of the fourth quarter off, as the defending champions cruised to a 3-0 start to the season.

What went right: Everything went the Nuggets way Sunday in Oklahoma City, but nothing was better than Denver’s defense on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder’s start guar scored just seven points on 16 shots. Three of those points came from the free throw line. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did the heavy lifting with Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon offering some help. Gilgeous-Alexaner also missed some shots he typically makes. It was a complete team effort to hold the Thunder, which finished 6 of 32 from 3-point range to 95 points, but Caldwell-Pope was the best of the bunch for a third straight game to start the season.

What went wrong: The only thing that went wrong came in the final minutes when Collin Gillespie missed a 3-pointer, his first shot in an NBA game. After missing all of last season with a serious leg injury, Gillespie will have to wait to score his first NBA points, something Julian Strawther accomplished Sunday with eight points in the second half.

Highlight of the day: The No. 30 pick in the 2022 draft got past the No. 2 pick for a dunk in the second half. After catching the ball in the left corner, Peyton Watson used a jab step to his right to get Chet Holmgren off balance and drove the baseline. With Holmgren’s 7-foot-6 wingspan in the rearview, Watson jumped from under the basket and finished the play with a reverse dunk, part of his career-high 17 points.

Up next: The next return to Denver for their first back-to-back of the season with Utah visiting for a 7 p.m. tipoff Monday at Ball Arena.