​Down three points with 13 seconds left, Bennett Stirtz quickly went up for the top-of-the-key outside jumper. Clank. It hit the front of the rim. With the ball ricocheting back for a second-chance look, Payton Sandfort’s sizzling streak snapped as his outside jumper also fell short at the buzzer.The Oklahoma City Thunder fell in a 106-103 Summer League loss to the Denver Nuggets. Even at this level, you’re guaranteed a banger of a game between these two foes. Still winless in the July extravaganza, it was the most entertaining of the bunch.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Thunder and Nuggets continued the tradition of most of their game scripts over the last year — all buckets, no defense, fast-paced. Now with a handful of games under his belt, Aday Mara started to play like the Michigan version of himself that helped him end up in the lottery range.On the other end, it looks like the Nuggets unearthed a second-round gem. Trevon Brazile put up points in a flurry. He showed some flash as he threw down a windmill dunk in transition. He reached double-digit points in a blink of an eye. The Thunder were in a 31-22 deficit after the first quarter.Eventually, the Thunder fell behind by as many as 13 points. It looked like Denver’s fast pace was too much for OKC to keep up with. That said, it didn’t really matter. Mara kept trying creative passes. He turned into an offensive hub. Finally, we saw what his ideal role would look like at the NBA level.The offense rolled along for the Thunder. They scored 29 points in the second frame. Syracuse legend Jim Boeheim gushed over their culture as his son Buddy has been in OKC for a couple of years now. That said, they were in a 60-51 deficit at halftime. Brazile banked in a deep 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left that had broadcaster Jeremy Lin utter Derek Fisher’s name.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementComing out of the break, though, the Thunder played rejuvenated. It didn’t take long to make this an interesting game. Nate Johnson had a couple of steals to make it a 64-62 contest with five minutes to go in the third frame. Basically a brand-new ball game. OKC had to catch its breath at first, but adjusted to Denver’s NASCAR-esque fast tempo.The Thunder scored 20 points in the third quarter. They entered the final frame in a 78-71 deficit. But it didn’t take long to erase that. They rattled off eight consecutive points. Mara and Stirtz connected on a couple of alley-oops to begin the fourth quarter. That made it a 78-77 deficit with over eight minutes to go.Alas, anytime it felt like OKC was about to finally get over the hump, Denver responded with a timely run. Brazile looked like prime Caleb Wilson out there with his scoring. It didn’t take long for the Nuggets to balloon their lead back to double-digit points and stiff-arm the Thunder on the scoreboard.After Brazile knocked down another outside jumper, the Thunder were in a 95-83 hole with three and a half minutes to go. A timeout ensued. OKC ne