Golden State Warriors Lose A Close One To Denver Nuggets In Potential Western Conference Finals Matchup
In last night’s primetime Western Conference matchup, the Denver Nuggets held off the Golden State Warriors 108-105. Both teams were without key pieces as Jamal Murray was sidelined for Denver and Draymond Green and Gary Payton II were both out for the Dubs. Reggie Jackson started in place of Murray while Saric replaced Draymond.
It was a relatively low scoring first quarter for both teams. Klay got the scoring started with a nice pull up jumper, something that Warriors fans were happy to see as he has been struggling with his shot recently. The Nuggets came back down the court and fed Jokic the ball for an easy post hook. With the Warriors lack of size, Jokic pretty much had free reign all game long. The one strategy that did prove effective early on was giving Jokic the deep shot. Kevon Looney sagged off and let him take threes, resulting in Jokic going 0-3 from downtown in the first period. The Nuggets seemed to have a gameplan to stop Curry too though, as he went scoreless in the first. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson were playing deny defense on Steph, making it hard for him to catch the ball with space. The Nuggets got up by as much as 12 when they took a 25-13 lead, but when Jokic was subbed out, the Dubs went on a little run. Rookie Brandin Podziemski was given some surprising burn, but he got a nice and-1 to fall after a pump fake got his defender in the air. Then with a minute left in the quarter, Moses Moody nailed a three and followed it up with a short jumper to cut the lead to five at the end of the first. In the second, rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis made a few nice plays including an and-1 layup off a dish from Steph. It was nice to see the young Warriors making the most of their playing time, especially against such a talented squad. Throughout the second, the Warriors fought hard but never got over the hump, as they drew as close as one point but couldn’t even the score. Jokic continued his dominance and even knocked down a three pointer and the Nuggets went into the locker room holding a 53-47 lead.
Denver took an early ten point lead after Jokic got another easy look around the rim, but the Warriors clawed back from there. Klay drilled a step back three, then a few minutes later Steph rained one in from downtown and after a pair of free throws, the Warriors were down just three points. But Jokic just kept attacking the paint where there wasn’t anyone within four or five inches of him. He finished the third with fourteen points but it was the Warriors who held a 78-76 lead. It was a team effort by the Dubs as everyone was getting buckets including Moody, Kuminga, Saric and Jackson-Davis. Chris Paul cashed in a three to start the fourth but after a Reggie Jackson bucket sandwiched by two MPJ buckets, the Nuggets were back up one, 83-82. The lead continued to change as Jackson nailed a three but Curry came right down the court and one-upped him, nailing one from a few feet deeper. Halfway through the quarter, Wiggins got an easy look at the rim to give the Dubs a 93-92 lead but ex-Warrior Justin Holiday sprayed a three from the corner to give Denver the lead right back. A few minutes later, with just over 60 seconds to play, the game seemed out of reach after CP3 missed a three KCP knocked down two from the charity stripe to give the Nuggets a 107-102 advantage. But Steph Curry did what he does best and somehow got an off-balance 34-footer to fall and after Jokic shockingly missed two free throws, the Warriors called timeout and had possession down two. Kerr drew up a play for Steph and he drove left, beating his defender off the dribble but narrowly missed a left-handed finger roll off the back rim. All hope was not lost as Reggie Jackson went 1-2 from the line and CP3 quickly attempted an outlet pass to Klay but overthrew it and the Nuggets escaped with a close victory.
Nobody on the Warriors stood out as Steph led the way with a modest 23 points. He was able to hit six threes and continue his red-hot start from beyond the arc. Klay went 5-12 with 15 points while Wiggins went 4-13 with 11 points. Looney had an efficient 10 points on 4-4 from the field and grabbed 8 boards as well. The second unit for Golden State shot 14-32 with Moody and Kuminga putting up 10 points and CP3 and Jackson-Davis finishing with 9 and 8. For the Nuggets, Jokic was the star with 35 points and 13 boards. Reggie Jackson had a quiet 20 with MPJ and Aaron Gordon chipping in with 17 and 14. The Denver bench was quiet, amassing 12 points combined.
Despite the Warriors loss, I believe there are several great things that came out of this game. First and foremost, the fact that they only lost by three in Denver with Dray and GP2 out is a great sign. Secondly, they recorded their lowest turnover total of the season with just nine. Third, they somehow won the rebound battle 49-45 which is astonishing considering the amount of size the Nuggets have. Now, there are obviously still areas Golden State struggled and things they must continue to work on. One thing that I noticed that doesn’t directly show up on the stat sheet is the fact that their rotations and switches on defense were not quick enough. Too many times Nuggets players got open looks because the rotation off a double team was too slow. Another area I think the Dubs need to improve is attacking the paint. If they can get to the rim it will lead to foul calls and ideally put the other team’s big men in foul trouble to the point where they have to sit.
Following this loss, the Warriors fall to 6-3 to start the season. They will travel home and get an extra day of rest before hosting the Cavs on Saturday night. Hopefully Draymond will be back, and after a loss to Cleveland just a week ago, the Warriors will have extra motivation to bounce back. I predict the Dubs will take care of business on their own home court and get the win 113-104.